Rise of a Hero
by ShadowHeart
Summary: Robbie Barnes is just an ordinary kid living on Earth, until the day the invader arrives. Now, using his father's invention, he's going to the DBZ world for some reinforcements...
1. The Suburban Boy

**Chapter 1: The Suburban Boy**

****

            The proud warrior stood unflinching before the creature of unspeakable evil.  After they stood staring for what seemed like an eternity, the warrior summoned all of his strength and attacked.

            Robbie Barnes watched unblinking as his hero battled to the limit against his age-old nemesis.  Suddenly, Robbie cried out in horror as disaster struck.

            "Hey Mike, move it!  I can't see the TV!"

            "Chill out!  You know Vegeta's going to get his ass kicked anyway."  Mike said.

            "That's not going to happen _this_ time!"

            "Vegeta's a loser, you know that, and Toriyama's never gonna change that!"

            "You bastard, take that back!"

            "You know it's true.  Vegeta'll get pounded, then Goku'll come in and save his ass. _ Like_.  _Always_." 

            "DIEEEEE!!!!"  After screaming this, he launched himself off the couch and tackled his friend.  Such skirmishes had been common for the last few weeks as he and his friends watched the newest episodes of the Namek Saga of Dragonball Z.  Robbie remembered the exact moment he heard the news.  He was watching another old( but no less exciting) episode of DBZ when a commercial came on announcing that a new batch of episodes was being released by Funimation, Inc.  No sooner had he heard this, he was on the phone with all of his friends, all of which were die-hard DBZ fans, and inviting them over to his house to watch them.  He hadn't exactly asked his mother for permission but knew that as soon as he spoke the words "I'll take responsibility for them," she would be like putty in his hands and let him do whatever he wanted (she had a soft spot for the word "responsibility."  

            "Hey you two, cut it out.  Other people are trying to watch this you know.  And could we please save the swearing for school hallways and the streets?  Yes Robbie, I'm talking to you too."  Robbie and Mike both looked up to see Dr. Malcolm Barnes, Robbie's father, looking at them sternly.  Dr' Barnes was a tall, lean man of forty-two, but looked to be in his only his early thirties.  Beneath these youthful looks, however, was a strong and ordered mind, which had already created many great things, and thought of many great ideas.  Also, with his neatly trimmed beard and mustache, bushy eyebrows, and closely-cropped hair, he looked every bit a scientist.

            "Sorry, sir."  The two boys cried out in unison.  Dr. Barnes had been present for all the new DBZ episodes.  When asked why, he simply stated "it pertains to a certain experiment I've been working on" and that was all.  He didn't just watch the shows either.  He would occasionally take out his notepad to jot some notes, and could often be heard mumbling to himself.  Needless to say,  Robbie and his father sat alone on the couch.  To Robbie, it seemed like his father was almost _studying_ the episodes.  For what was anyone's guess.

            However, studying was  what his father did best.  Dr. Barnes was a well-paid, high-ranking physicist working for a private lab in Las Angeles called FutureTech Inc.  It was a small firm but was involved in several top-secret contracts for the U.S. government.  Dr. Barnes had always assured Catherine that he wasn't working on weapons or anything military, but never went farther than that in describing his work.  However, Robbie wandered down into his father's basement study occasionally and took a peek at his books and notes.  Most recently Dr. Barnes had been reading up on something called quantum physics, but Robbie didn't have a clue what that was.  The books were no help either, since they contained only long words and even longer equations that made no sense to a teenager like Robbie.

The episode was over, and all of Robbie's friends cleared out.  This was his dad's time to watch the six o'clock news.  Catherine came in and sat while Robbie went upstairs to read the latest manga from Gundam Wing.  Robbie breathed, ate, and slept anime.

"You know honey," Catherine said as he started up the stairs," you should watch the news once in a while instead of looking at cartoons and comic books.  You are a very intelligent boy and you should expand your mind."

"Okay Mom" Robbie said.  He added under his breath 'when Vegeta confesses his undying love for Bulma, then turns around and tells Trunks what a great boy he is.' That said, it was time for Gundam Wing.  Robbie flopped on his bed and absorbed himself for almost two hours.


	2. Incoming!

**Chapter 2: Incoming!**

In the Barnes' home, dinner was always served at around eight o'clock, so Robbie headed downstairs. As usual, he prayed his mother wasn't making one of her "specialties": meatloaf, chicken gizzards, or squid. The hours Robbie spent reading comics were nothing compared to the time he would spend on the toilet if he ingested one of these "savory dishes." Thankfully, she was making beef stir fry, which was one of her real specialties. Chinese was her best, even though she was 100% English.

He noticed the food first, then the strange expressions on the faces of his parents. This disturbed Robbie because between them they only had three expressions. His father: thoughtfulness, his mother: a cheerful smile, both: consternation when he did something wrong. This new expression looked like a mixture of fear and puzzlement. Robbie felt fear rise in his chest as he realized that he had never seen his parents scared _or _puzzled. Catherine saw him and immediately her classic smile returned. She motioned him to sit down as Dr. Barnes began to speak.

"You really should've watched the news with us Robbie."

"Yes," his mother chimed in," there was a fascinating story about a comet that is going to pass very near to the Earth. The meteorologist said it would be quite a spectacular show!"

"Also," Dr. Barnes continued, "this is a new comet that no one has seen before."

"Sounds exciting Dad," Robbie said, and then the conversation turned to more mundane topics. By eight-thirty they were finished. Robbie got up to do the dishes when his father stopped him.

"Don't worry about the dishes, your mother will take care of those tonight. Instead, I want you to go down to my study. There's something we need to talk about. I'll be down shortly." As Robbie turned to leave he heard his mother whisper to his father. He could barely make out the words.

"Are you sure we have to do this? He's only fifteen years old!" He could hear his mother crying.

"Yes, dear. He is the only one who can do this." Robbie was scared now. 'What are my parents talking about?' He wondered to himself. He knew he was in trouble, but for what he had no idea. The only thing that crossed his mind were the rats he had let into the girls locker room three days ago. The results of that were the entire girl's gym class had to stand out in the hall in nothing but their bath towels. But that was just a little prank! They wouldn't hold that against him? Would they?

"Robbie, come on," his father said. They proceeded down into the basement, past the laundry room, and into Dr. Barnes' well-furnished study.

"Take a seat." Dr. Barnes motioned to a large, padded seat in front of the desk, while he took his own seat behind the desk. To Robbie, this seemed too much like his numerous interrogations in the principle's office. 'Yup,' he thought to himself, 'I'm in deep.'

"Am I in trouble, Dad?" Robbie asked. Dr. Barnes sighed heavily, looked down, and then looked back at Robbie.

"No, but after you hear what I tell you, you'll probably wish you were. What you're about to hear is very sensitive and very important. Promise me you won't tell anyone what you're about to hear."

"I promise, Dad."

"Alright. As you know, I have many friends in different fields of science. One of these friends works for S.E.T.I., or Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Have you ever heard of them?"

"They're the ones with the radio telescopes that search for aliens, right?" At this point Dr. Barnes only smiled.

"Yes, good boy, I can see someone's been paying attention around here! Anyway, S.E.T.I picked up a signal two days ago from an unknown source somewhere near Pluto, and it was determined that the source was rapidly moving toward Earth. The news channels say it's a meteor, but the U.S. government has determined that it resembles a man, seven feet tall and weighing close to a ton. However, it was discovered that the man was made mostly of a strange metal and a few other unknown materials. This leads us to believe that this not a being of flesh and blood, but rather a cybernetic organism. In other words, we could be dealing with an android."

"I don't like the sound of that. Is it friendly?"

"S.E.T.I wanted to think so at first, and they sent a recording of a signal that they had intercepted to my lab for analysis. Upon decoding, though, the signal turned out to be a declaration of war on our world." In his shock, Robbie jumped up from his chair.

"No! You can't be serious…" He was silenced as his father's arms shot out and latched onto his shoulders.

"I am, Robbie, now be quiet and listen! This android is more powerful than any thing this world has ever seen before and can easily extinguish all life on this planet, and there is no army on Earth that can stand up to it. In short, we have no defense against this new threat."

"So that's it? Are you trying to say that there's no hope for any of us, that we're all going to be wiped out by some tin can with an attitude?!'

"There is nothing on our world that can stop him, no weapon, army, or technology to hold him at bay, but we do have one option for survival. That's where you come in." At this point, Robbie was completely scared and lost, and this new revelation did nothing to calm the hurricane of fear storming in his heart. Robbie could almost imagine his father strapping him into a walking battle machine to duke it out with the alien, and while it was a tantalizing thought, he knew it would never happen. "Dad, what could I possibly do?"

"Robbie, do you know what I've been working on at the lab for the past year?"

"Would it have anything to do with quantum physics?"

"Yes, I see someone has been sneaking into my study again." At this Robbie averted his eyes. "Oh well, you're right anyways. Do you know what quantum physics is though?

"No, not at all."

" It's the theory that there are multiple universes, _parallel_ universes, beyond our own. For example, the universe of your favorite show, DBZ, has an Earth just like ours does. Except on their Earth, they have hovering vehicles, Dragon Balls, and dinosaurs. We have none of these things in our world, at least not in our time period. Also, the incredible powers of some of the inhabitants reveals that some of the laws of nature are different there, or the people have the ability to bend them which is more likely the case. My point is, DBZ may be a made-up world in our universe, but it exists in its own. Over the past year, I have been working on a portal to that universe, and now you must go through it."

"Dad, why me?"

"Not to inflate your ego, but you are in top physical and mental condition, plus you know more about this world and its inhabitants than anyone else I know. I am your father, and I would never put you in harm's way, but for this important task, for the survival of Earth, you are the only choice."

"Great. So what am I supposed to do when I get over there? Use the Dragon Balls and wish for the destruction of the alien?"

"Robbie! I'm surprised at you! You know as well as I do that the Eternal Dragon can't grant a wish that exceeds its creator's power. Besides, the Dragon Balls only work in that universe. They would have no effect on ours."

"I'm surprised Dad. You really absorbed a lot of DBZ."

"Of course. You didn't think that after watching so many episodes with your friends I wouldn't pick up something? Now, for our plans. Tomorrow we're going to the lab. Security's tight right now, so I'm going to get you in disguised as a package. Once in my lab, you're going to get out and go through the gate that I have invented. Then, your real mission begins.

"What is my mission?"

"Your mission, Robbie, is to seek out the Z fighters, find as many as you can, and get them to come back through the gate with you. At very least, bring back Goku or Vegeta, since they are the two strongest."

"But dad, what if the machine drops me off in the wrong time, like when Vegeta's on Namek and Goku's in the hospital? I won't be able to find any of the Z fighters then.

"I've already planned for that. The machine will use one of your videos to determine the time period, so whatever time period is represented by the video will be the time period you end up in. Now, what do you think will be the best time to go to?"

"That's easy. The best time to get them would be right before the androids attack, so the best video to use would be "Z Warriors Prepare."

"Alright then. Don't forget it when we leave for the lab tomorrow, and I think that's all I need to tell you. Now go get some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow.

"Good night. I love you Dad.'

"I love you too, son."


	3. Farewell to Earth

**Chapter 3: Farewell to Earth**

****

            Robbie Barnes awoke at six A.M.  He quickly dressed and ate.  Dr. Malcolm Barnes did likewise.  They were about to leave when a dark shadow moved in front of the door.

            "Aren't you going to say goodbye to your mother?"  Catherine said.  A tear slid down her cheek as Robbie embraced her tightly.

            "I love you, Mom."

            "And I love you too, Robbie."  She was still crying, but managed a weak smile.  "Oh my, who would've thought my little boy would save the world?"

            "Catherine," Dr. Barnes said.  "We have to go."

            "One more minute!"  She choked out between sobs, "just give me one more minute with my only son before you send him off to war alone!"  Catherine glared at her husband with accusation in her eyes.  This hurt Dr. Barnes deeply, and he looked at the ground, praying to God that his wife would understand why he was doing this.

            "Robert, listen to me," Catherine continued, "I want you to be careful and come back alive.  I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you."

            "Okay Mom, I'll be careful."  Robbie said as he and his father walked out the door.  Catherine ran to the window to watch them leave.  She watched wistfully as the men she loved got into the car and drove off, never to be seen again.

……………….

            Robbie and Malcolm Barnes drove in silence for the first half of their one-hour trip to the city of Las Angeles.  Malcolm was staring sternly at the road ahead, while Robbie stared at the sights along the highway.  It was Robbie who finally broke the silence.

            "Dad, I've got a question.  Why do I have to go alone?  Why can't you go with me?"  Malcolm thought for a moment, then spoke.

            "I honestly thought about coming along but two things stopped me.  One, the machine isn't good at delivering two people to the same place, which means we would send up wasting precious time looking for each other before our real mission could begin.  Second, I have an important job that I could be doing here.  I feel it is my duty and the duty of all scientists to find some way to hold back the advancing enemy.  Already I have devised several systems to do just that.  However, none of these systems will defeat the invader, but they will slow him down.  That's why I must stay here, and you must go on without me.  You are the only one able to completely stop him.  Understand?"

            "Understood."

            With their conversation ended, they finished the drive in silence until they reached downtown L.A. and pulled into the parking garage at FutureTech.  Robbie began to walk toward the door, when his father stopped him.

            "Hey, Robbie, aren't you forgetting something?"  Robbie turned around just in time to see his father pull a large crate from the trunk of the car and set it on the pavement.  Looking closer, Robbie saw that the crate wasn't all _that _large, and that he could only fit into it if he curled into a ball and lay on his side.  His father urged him on.

            "Hurry, before someone sees us."  Robbie took a deep breath, walked forward, and proceeded to get into the case.  Then his father closed the lid and Robbie lay in total darkness.  He felt himself lifted of the ground and carried along for a few minutes.  Then his neck began to hurt and he wondered how much farther it was to his father's lab.

           Ten minutes later, he felt himself descending down a flight of stairs and heard an electronic door slide shut behind him.  Just as he thought he couldn't take another minute of his aching neck, he was lowered to the ground and the lid popped open, revealing the face of a _very winded Dr. Barnes._

            "C'mon….son…let me…help you….up."

            "Its alright dad.  I can handle this, and it looks like you need a breather."

            "I guess I do.  What has your mother been feeding you?"

            "It must be all the squid and chicken gizzards."  

            "Indeed."  They both broke out in laughter at the joke.  Then followed a moment of silence as they realized that this might be the last time they would share such a moment.  Dr. Barnes sighed and got up.

            "Well then, shall we begin?"

            "Yeah.  So where's this gate thingy?"

            "Right here."  Dr. Barnes pulled a lever, and from a doorway set in the floor, a strange machine emerged.  To Robbie, it looked like a giant stainless-steel shower stall with a mainframe attached to the left side.

            "Is this it?" he said, motioning to the strange machine in front of him.

            "Yes, this is the vessel that will carry you to the DBZ universe," he said as he inserted Robbie's tape into the machine and punched some commands, "Are you ready?"

            "Yes…Father."  Robbie walked over to his father and wrapped his arms around him one last time.  Without meaning to, he began to cry.  "I love you Dad!"

            "I love you too, Robbie.  You've been the best son a man could ever hope for and no matter what happens, I know you'll make your mother and I very proud.  You are the world's only hope now and I have full faith in you.  Now go, go and save our world!"

            Robbie straightened up and wiped the tears from his.  As he walked into the swirling energies, he called back "I won't fail you father!"  And with a flash of  dazzling light he walked through and was gone, leaving Dr. Malcolm Barnes alone in his lab.  Then, a buzzer sounded at the door and he went to greet his important guests.  


	4. Meet The Twins

**Chapter 4: Meet the Twins**

****

            _White.__  Nothing but swirling, shimmering White.  He could feel himself moving.  Whether he was crawling at a snails pace or hurtling at the speed of light, he did not know.  After what seemed like hours of drifting like this, he saw a small point of blue appear ahead of him.  The point quickly grew into a large circle, and Robbie slipped through._

            "Ooph!"  Robbie grunted as he crawled from the spinning portal…and immediately fell ten feet to the ground.  He quickly checked himself for injuries, and, seeing none, he got to his feet.  He found himself standing in a wide plain of rolling hills, broken only by a small lake in front of him, and a winding road to his right.  Next he looked down and saw that his clothes, a pair of black Nike sneakers, blue Levis, and his favorite Metallica t-shirt, were covered in dirt and mud.  "My Mom's gonna kill me!" he said aloud.

            "Not if we do it first," said a calm, steady voice above him.

            Robbie looked up, and stared directly into a pair of pale, ice-blue eyes only inches from his face.  "Aaaah!" he screamed as he fell over backwards.  From his new vantage point, he got a better look at the owner of the strange pair of eyes.  He gasped in horror as he recognized the man standing before him as Android Seventeen. Robbie heard a soft crunch behind him and turned just in time to see Android Eighteen complete a graceful landing on the gravel beside the road.

            "What the hell is this?  You two shouldn't be here yet!"  Robbie exclaimed.

            "Why shouldn't we be?"  Seventeen said. "There's no one on this planet strong enough to beat us."

            "Everyone who tried is dead," Eighteen chimed in with a sneer.

            "But there's no way you could've defeated Piccolo!"

            "Oh yes, he was the first to try," Seventeen said.

            "…And the first to die!"  Eighteen laughed in agreement.

            "What about Krillen?"  Robbie continued.

            "Dead of course," Eighteen said, "Even though he was kinda cute."

            "Yamcha?"

            "Dead."

            "Tien?"

            "Dead."

            "Vegeta?!"

            "Dead, Dead, Dead!"  The android duo sang in unison.

            "Even Goku?"

            "He's dead too, but that wasn't us.  Gero was responsible for that one."  Eighteen said.  That was when Robbie realized the horrible truth: he was in the devastated future timeline, and all the Z-fighters were dead.  He had little time to contemplate this as a strong hand picked him up by his sides and carried him thirty feet into the air.  He heard Seventeen's voice behind him.

            "Hey sis!  Let's do a little experiment.  Let's drop him on the road and see how high he bounces!"  Eighteen called back from the ground.

            "That's boring.  I'd rather judge his form in the high dive!"  Robbie looked down and realized that he was hovering above the lake.  Then, Seventeen let go and he plummeted, feet first, into the water.  The freezing water surrounded him instantly, but he fought his way back to the surface.  His head cleared the water, and as he was coughing it out of his lungs, he heard Eighteen call to him from the shore.

            "Too bad!  I only gave you a two!"  She cackled evilly.  Seventeen was standing next to her and held up four fingers.  There was only one finger that Robbie wanted to show right now, but he held it back.  These weren't teachers or principals, they were cybernetic warriors that could easily end his life on a whim.  

            Seventeen flew over to him, grabbed him by his collar and once again begin ascending into the sky.  Robbie wondered how long they could keep this up.  _Maybe they'll get tired of me and leave me alone.  Seventeen called down to Eighteen.  "Are you happy now?"_

            "I guess," she said with a bored sigh, "do whatever you want."

            "Alright," he was looking down at Robbie now, "think you're up for a little experiment?  Yes?  Good.  We're going to drop you onto the road from a height of one hundred feet, then Eighteen down there will measure how high you bounce.  Understood?"  Robbie began to thrash wildly as the reality of his imminent death entered his mind.  Seventeen was holding Robbie above the ground at the desired height.  Eighteen called up.  "Okay, let him go!"  Then Robbie began a sickening freefall.  Wind whistled past his ears as the ground rushed up for a final, crushing embrace. 

…

Mirai flew low over the plains at supersonic speeds.  Ever since Gohan's death and his Super-Saiyajin transformation, he had been following his bitter enemies, Androids Seventeen and Eighteen.  He hadn't tried to fight them, not directly, because he still wasn't confident yet of his own power.  The loss of his mentor and friend still weighed heavily on his mind.  Still, he tried to help the broken victims that the Androids left in their wake.  He heard on the radio that West City was under attack, and was now making his way there.  He shuddered to think of the carnage he would find there, nothing but ruin, blood, death, and destruction.  However, he was the only one who could do anything, so for Gohan, for his mother, for himself, he went on.

Then Trunks saw Them.  He dropped down among the rolling hills to avoid being spotted.  He then peeked out to see what they were up to.  He saw a blonde-haired girl standing next to a small lake.  "_Eighteen," _he thought to himself_, "and wherever she is, Seventeen cannot be far behind."  _He sensed someone else, too.  A very weak power signature.  Then he saw who it was, a human boy who looked about as old as he himself was.  Seventeen was holding him by the collar high above the road.  Trunks waited to see what he would do.  Then Seventeen let the boy go, and Trunks could wait no more.  His power flared, and he shot from his hiding place, hoping he could reach him in time.  

...

 Robbie screwed his eyes shut and waited for the end, except it never came.  No splatter, no sudden stop.  Instead he was caught in midair.  Robbie opened his eyes, expecting to see one of the androids, but ended up looking into the face of his greatest hero, Mirai Trunks.

            "Trunks!"  Robbie cried out with gleeful relief.  _This may not be so bad after all.  Trunks is one of the strongest fighters in existence!  If I can convince him to come with me, my world can still be saved!  _

            "Hang on," Trunks said, and blasted off over the plains as fast as he could.  The androids were stunned for a moment, but when they realized that their toy was gone and their fun was spoiled, they took off in hot pursuit.  Trunks began to weave side to side as a barrage of energy blasts flew at him from his pursuers.  Robbie could do nothing but hold on tight, and put his faith in his hero.

            Trunks powered up farther, but not enough to injure the boy in his arms.  He considered going Super-Saiyajin, but knew that his energy aura would kill the boy.  Therefore he simply flew as fast as he could toward the mountains in the north, and beyond those, possibly West City.  If he could get there, he might be able to lose them, but as long as he had the boy, he could not outrun them.  

            He reached the steep mountain and banked upward.  The Androids mimicked his move, hanging back several hundred feet, and pelting the mountain face with more energy blasts.  Trunks flinched as bits of rock struck his sides.  He tried to shield his young friend, but some of the debris managed to get through, and Robbie was bleeding from several deep scratches before Trunks could get over the top of the ridge and out of the line of fire.  

            Robbie screamed in horror at the sight that greeted them on the other side of the mountain.  Below them lay the ruins of West City.  The Androids had destroyed every building, and slaughtered every living thing that they could find.  It was a stark reminder to Robbie of what would happen if he failed.   Trunks began a steep dive down into the streets and coasted over the ground, spraying dust and rubble to either side.  Robbie looked back the way they had come.  There was no sign of the Androids.

            "See anything?"  Trunks asked.

            "All clear.  We should find a place to hide." Robbie replied.

            "Right."  Trunks slowed to a stop on his feet, then turned and ran through a twisted mass of concrete and steel.  There were bodies everywhere.  The smell of scorched flesh was overwhelming.  Trunks had seen this many times before, but Robbie had never seen a dead body, not even at a funeral.  He began to retch violently onto the ground.  Robbie finished and followed Trunks further into the devastated ruin.  Suddenly, Trunks stopped, as if he heard something, then grabbed Robbie around the waist and pulled him into a niche in the wall of the passage.  When they had settled down, Robbie heard voices just above him.  

            "Where are they?"  Seventeen yelled, furious.

            "Lost him again."  Eighteen replied.

            "Why does that guy keep trying to spoil our fun?"

            "Could be we destroyed his best friend, his father, his world…"

            "Okay!  I get it.  Still, if I ever get my hands on him…"

            "Whatever, let's get out of here, I need a shower.  This dust is making my hair dirty."

            "You and your hair…"  Then the voices disappeared as the Androids left.

            Trunks waited ten minutes, then began to climb up through the rubble for a better look.  He scanned the horizon in every direction.  Sure enough, the Androids were gone.  Behind him, Robbie was crawling out of the rubble, covered in rust stains and dirt.  

            "Hey, I think they're gone.  Do you have family anywhere?  I could take you to them."  Trunks asked.  Robbie didn't want to spill the beans right here, so he made up a response.

            "No, my parents died when I was young, and the only other family I had was an aunt that I lived with, but the house was destroyed and she went with it."  Robbie looked at the ground.

            "I'm sorry.  Do you need a place to stay?"

            "Actually I do, what did you have in mind?"

            "You can come stay at my place for awhile.  We've got plenty of space and my mom's used to me bringing people home until we can find a place for them.  Besides, she'll be able to look at those cuts of yours," he said, pointing to the oozing punctures and slashes on his arms and face.

            "That's okay, if it won't be much trouble?"

            "None at all.  There are a lot of people like you these days, and I've tried my best to help as many of them as I can.  It's the least I could do."

            "Alright, let's go then." Robbie said.

            "One more thing," Trunks asked, "I didn't catch your name."

            "Robbie, Robbie Barnes."

            "That's a strange name."

            "Where I come from, so is Trunks."  They both laughed out loud.

            "Okay, kid.  We'd better get going."  Trunks scooped Robbie up and leapt into the sky.  "Capsule Corp., here we come!"


	5. Home Guard

**Chapter 5: Home Guard**

****

            The huge steel doors rushed open, and Dr. Barnes was face-to-face with the highest ranking members of the United States Military.  Generals of the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force were all there, ready to hear what he had to say, as well as assistants and guards, which had scattered throughout the building for security.  They had been told that he might have some way to beat the looming threat, and they waited somewhat eagerly to hear his ideas.  Dr. Barnes motioned them into the spacious lab.

            "Good morning, gentlemen.  Please come in.  There aren't many seats, but…" the Marine commander cut him off.

            "Cut the crap, Doctor, and get to the point.  We've all got troops to prepare and plans to make, and we don't feel like sitting around.  Got it?"

            "Yes, sir.  I assure you, your time will not be wasted.  If you'll follow me over here," he motioned to the far left corner of the room, to the left of the Gate, "I'll show you the first item on our agenda.  This is the first of many devices that will be at your disposal in the coming fight."

            "Excuse me, but how are these things going to help?"  Asked the Army commander.  "From the looks of it, you've only got a few of whatever that is lying around, and we need a hell of a lot more than that."

            "I will get to that.  Please listen closely, Gentlemen, and all your questions will be answered in due time.  The first device I must show you is this Laser Drill.  Originally designed for mining application, it may be able to cut through materials 20 times stronger then titanium."

            "May?"  Asked the Marine commander.

            "Yes.  You see, we don't actually have a metal that much stronger than titanium, so we can only estimate its power.  However, I can say it has penetrated every material we have tried it on, even in multiple layers.  Nothing has been able to stop it."

            "That's good, but you said it's a drill, right?"  Said the Army commander.

            "Yes."

            "How easy is it to handle, let's say, for the average man?  Keep in mind we may be arming civilians if our own forces are not enough."

            "I have already planned for that, General.  I assure you, weight will not be a problem."  Before anyone could say anything, Dr. Barnes picked up the drill, which resembled a steel tube narrowing back to a handle at its rear and with a handle on top, with his left hand.  His face showed no signs of exertion, since the object only weighed a little over ten pounds.  "As you can see, gentlemen, it is light enough even for an old man like me."  He said with a sardonic smile.

            "That's nice and all, Doctor, but how powerful is it?  I have yet to see a demonstration."  Returned the Navy commander.

            "That is next.  If you will direct your attention to your right on the far wall, you will notice a set of body armor.  Watch closely."  Dr. Barnes squeezed the firing trigger, and a burst of orange light jumped from the muzzle and impacted the body armor on the left, leaving a one-foot diameter hole clean through the chest plate and back.  However, the wall behind it was unscathed, even though it had taken a direct hit from the beam.  The Air Force commander was the first to notice this.

            "The armor was destroyed, but the wall behind it wasn't even touched.  Do you mind explaining this, Doctor?"

            "Not at all.  This is the next device I wanted to show you.  The armor was the strongest that has yet existed, but was easily destroyed by the Laser Drill.  In contrast, the wall was merely steel-reinforced concrete and was not harmed.  The reason for this is the Shield Array.  You'll notice that large box next to the armor.  That's the Generator.  It creates a field of energy over an area, in this case the lab, for protection.  I originally designed it for scientists operating in hostile areas, such as near wildlife or natural phenomenon, but you it can easily be deployed to protect against any kind of energy attack."

            "Are you saying that the invader is going to be using such attacks?"  Asked the Army commander, "After all, not even the military has any positive intelligence on this thing.  If you know something, would you please share it with the rest of us?"

            "General, I am merely going on assumptions based on data I have received from S.E.T.I.  Its scans revealed that the invader is a cybernetic organism, and holds inside itself many advanced technologies which we hold no knowledge of.  All we have been able to figure out is that it is made of an alien metal, and that it knows English."  Looks of surprise passed over the faces of the generals and their assistants.  The marine general was especially incredulous.

            "English!  How the hell can this thing be from outside our solar system and still know English?"

            "I am not sure, general, but we may find out soon enough.  The invader will arrive in two more days." Now the Army general was stunned.

            "Two days?  How are we to prepare?  We need time to mobilize our troops, move supplies, position defenses, the list is endless!  Besides that, we need to produce all this crap you've shown us if we even want a _chance_ at winning this war.  How can we do all this in two days?"  Dr. Barnes tried to ease the general's mind.

            "These devices have already been produced, here in this facility."

            "What? How many?"  The Army commander asked.

            "Enough to arm and equip one-thousand men."

            "One-thousand!?  That's it?  It's going to take_ millions_ of men and then some to stop this thing and you only have a _thousand?"_

            "Listen everyone.  I'm going to be honest.  The invader must be stopped quickly, when he first arrives.  If this does not happen, then all the armies and defense forces in the world won't be able to stop him.  Sadly, we may not even be able to win with even these.  It must be a small force, trained in urban combat and utilizing this equipment.  This force must meet him head-on at his landing zone."

            "Where is this landing zone?"  Asked the Air Force commander."

            "Here.  The city of Los Angeles."

            "What!  How do you know this?"

            "S.E.T.I. decoded his message, which stated his landing zone to be here, in plain English."

            "How come you knew about this and we didn't?"

            "This information was discovered only today and has yet to be relayed to the proper authorities."

            "God Damn."  Replied the general.

            "Gentlemen, we have little time.  You must choose one-thousand of your best men and bring them here.  They must be deployed in the city limits, with fifty to be deployed in this building."

            "Wait, why here?"  The Air Force general asked.

            "This is going to be your command center, since no other place will be safe for you.  As I said before, this entire facility is shielded, from top to bottom.  Communications equipment will be moved in, and you will be able to direct the defense of Earth from this very room.  In addition, if our defense fails, this place will be the fallback point, the Alamo, the last stand…"

            "This is it?"  Asked the Navy commander.  The Marine commander responded, if a bit angrily.

            "Now wait one damned minute!  _We are the leaders of the United States military.  _You _are nothing but a rinky-dink science boy here to give us some info and some advice.  You're __not here to order us around and take over command of this operation.  Is that __clear, _Doctor_?!"  The old leatherneck was screaming now, his face read and sweaty.  Veins appeared on his forehead, which Dr. Barnes could see very clearly since the commander was six inches from his face.  His own face was simply a thoughtful mask.  He even took the erratic step of stroking his beard in a brooding manner.  This angered the Marine commander even further, and he began another angry tirade.  Dr. Barnes simply turned away and addressed the rest of the generals._

            "Gentlemen, the commander here is right.  You are in command of the forces of the United States, not me.  I _am merely a scientist.  If you so choose, you can ignore everything I've just told you and go back to your original plan.  However, it is my belief that our chances of victory are slim, if they even exist at all.  I believe that to win will require a highly unconventional battle plan, involving highly unconventional weapons and tactics.  I do not seek power over this operation, nor do I wish to command anyone.  My only goal is to see that my ideas and technologies are made available, or possibly even utilized, in the approaching battle.  This reminds me, I have one more thing to show you."  This time, Dr. Barnes reached into the inside pocket of his lab coat.  There he noticed an object that shouldn't have been there, but he reminded himself to take care of it later.  What he wanted was next to it.  He closed his fingers around it, and pulled it out.  It was small and white, with a green piece of glass attached.  It looked like half a pair of sunglasses connected to one earphone.  Dr. Barnes unfolded it and placed the earphone over his right ear, and he adjusted the small arm so that the green glass piece was focused over his right eye.  The generals looked at him strangely, and a couple snickered to themselves.  They thought he looked ridiculous._

            "Gentlemen, please listen closely.  This is perhaps the most important piece of equipment your troops will be carrying."

            "Great.  So you're saying all of the men we give you are going to look like idiots?  What is this, a defense force or a clown brigade?  Really, Doctor."  The Marine commander responded.

            "Don't let appearances deceive you.  This is an integral part of the systems that will be deployed in the battle.  I call it the Scouter.  It is a heads-up display system that will be connected to the soldier's weapons, armor, even body, as well as being linked to all other Scouters.  It will allow each individual soldier to monitor the strength and conditions of his weapons, armor, and his own vital signs.  It will also be the primary source of communication with his fellow soldiers.  However, its primary function is the most important of all.  With this device, the soldier will be able to see the weaknesses of the enemy, and gauge his true power.

            "What does that mean?"  Asked the Navy commander.

            "Allow me to explain.  We have no definite data on our enemy.  We don't know his offensive or defensive capabilities, his speed, or his damage threshold.  In short, we are fighting blind.  The Scouters may show our troops some gaps in the invader's defense."

            "Well," began the Army commander, "You've made a believer out of me, Doctor.  I'm in.  I'll chip in five hundred troops for your little experiment."

            "I'll second that," said the Navy commander, "I'll give you a hundred SEALs."

            "Same here," said the Air Force commander, "I'll send a hundred Special Ops."  The Marine commander merely grumbled to himself and looked away.  Soon, all eyes were on him.  Dr. Barnes broke the stinging silence.

            "That's seven hundred troops.  You have my gratitude.  However, we are still three hundred troops short.  Does anyone wish to increase the…"

            "The marines will send three hundred soldiers.  From Force Recon.  Can't let you pussies go it alone, can we?"  Applause filled the room.  Earth's Home Guard was beginning to take form.

……………………

            Catherine was busy doing the dishes when the phone rang.  Since she had said goodbye to her husband and only son this morning, she had done nothing but housework.  That's what she did most of the time anyway, but today it had taken on a frenzied pace.  In the past three hours, she had vacuumed the whole house from top to bottom, cleaned every scrap of dirty laundry that the family owned, washed the floors that couldn't be vacuumed, and cooked a three-course breakfast, which she never even touched.  She put it in the refrigerator and proceeded to pull all the dishes, cups and silverware out of the cupboards and drawers and wash them by hand, piece by piece.  She had currently completed one-fourth of the job.  

            It was either this, or sit down and contemplate what horrors might befall her son and husband in the not-so-distant future.  For a dedicated mother and wife such as herself, nothing could be more unbearable.  So, for this reason, she worked like a manic depressive.  To keep the bad thoughts at bay. 

            Catherine didn't actually hear the phone until the third ring.  Her head jerked up, and with lightning speed, she grabbed the earpiece and nearly tore it out of the wall in the process.

            "HELLO!?"  She answered.

            "Honey, it's me.  Malcolm."

            "MALCOLM!   How are you?Are you safe?Has the beast arrived yet?Has the battle started?Did Robbie leave okay?Have you heard from him?Have you…"

           "Catherine!  Get a hold of yourself.  I'm fine, and Robbie got through okay, but I'm not sure about what's happening, since there is no way of communicating with him."

            "When are you coming home?"

            "Sadly, I won't be coming home for a couple of days.  I have many preparations to make here at the lab that will require my constant presence."

            "Honey, where will you sleep?  What will you eat?"

            "There are facilities here at the lab to take care of all my needs, but if you by any chance have some of that beef stir fry left over, I'll send one of my assistants to pick it up."

            "Malcolm, this is no time to joke around.  What are you going to be doing that requires you to stay so long?"

            "Well, remember all those things I told you about that I was working on?"

            "The ones you said were _non-military?_"

            "Umm, yes.  Well, the military wants them for the defense of Earth."

            "_You lied to me!?"  Dr. Barnes held the phone away from his head as his second angry tirade of the day spewed forth.  One of the guards at the desk in the hall asked if everything was all right.  Dr. Barnes flashed him a thumbs up and returned to the phone._

            "_How could you go behind my back and…"_

            "Honey!  For the love of God, stop!  I didn't lie to you.  These things I made were for strictly civilian or scientific purposes, but when I received word that the invader was coming,  I simply found new uses for them.  I would never lie to you dear.  You know that  I love you."

            "Okay, you're off the hook this time, but I'm still worried about you."

            "I know, but listen closely, because there's something important I need to tell you."

            "What is it?"

            "I want you to get some things together, enough for a week, and go to your mother's house in Phoenix."

            "What?! Why…"

           "Don't ask questions!  Just do what  I say.  Things could get dangerous in the city and anywhere nearby.  Call her up, do what you have to, but get there or as far away from Los Angeles as you can _today_."

            "Why are you staying if it's so dangerous?  _What's happening there?!"_

            "The invader is coming to Earth in two days.  He will be landing in Los Angeles."

            "Oh my God…"

            "That's why it is _imperative _that you leave.  I'm warning you now because in one hour, the military will issue a general order for all civilians to leave the city.  When that happens, there _will be a panic, and you won't be able to get out for a long time."  Catherine went to say something, but Dr. Barnes was talking to someone else next to him._

            "Honey, I have to go.  They need me now."

            "Off to save the world, too?"

            "I'm afraid so."

            "Don't get yourself killed, do you hear me?"

            "I won't.  You stay safe as well, dear.  I don't think I could live without you."    "I love you, Malcolm."

            "I love you, too, Catherine."  Reluctantly, they both hung up their phones, each wondering if they would ever see the other again.

…………

           "Dr. Barnes, the troops are assembling.  Are you ready to go?"  Called a corporal standing in the doorway of his lab.  Malcolm did not respond immediately, but instead packed some papers and notes into his briefcase.  He then looked up and responded.

            "I am now.  Is the chopper waiting?"

            "Yes, sir.  Ready to go, sir."

            "Alright.  Listen, you don't have to call me 'sir' I'm not even in the military.  Just call me 'Doctor.' Okay?"

            "Yes, si…Doctor."

            "Good.  Let's go."  The corporal led Malcolm to an elevator which then took them to the top of the FutureTech building, where a huey sat waiting to deliver them to a secret staging ground underneath the city.  Here, Malcolm would give begin to train his defense force, codenamed Zero Division (as in Ground Zero), in the special equipment they would be using.  

            The chopper began to rise into the skies and head toward the city of Los Angeles, and Malcolm was given a bird's-eye view of what was happening in the streets below.  Just half an hour ago, the military had announced its order for the city to be evacuated, as well as a proclamation of martial law.  Now, chaos reigned.

            As the chopper approached the city, its occupants saw that every street and thoroughfare throughout the metropolitan area was jammed with people, as well as vehicles of every type.  Trucks and buses, all the way down to cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles clogged the lanes from curb to curb and up on the sidewalk on both sides.  Even through the armor of the military transport, Malcolm could hear the roaring din of sound, the roar of panic suffusing the air.  Through the bulletproof glass, he saw the violence begin to spread.  Fights began between enraged motorists.  Police tried to direct the now stagnant flow of traffic, and then tried to subdue those who wouldn't comply.  Looters broke into homes that they assumed were empty, only to find them occupied, and that the occupants would willingly respond with sometimes lethal force.  Already, several bodies littered the sidewalks, the police unable or to busy too do anything about it.  The people of Los Angeles knew that something dangerous was on its way, and all they could think about was survival.  The pilot's voice came over the intercom.

            "Dr. Barnes, we're setting down now.  Prepare for landing."  Malcolm quickly made sure his seatbelt was secure, and the chopper made a landing on the rooftop of a low-rise building on the other side of the city.  The building looked like a simple warehouse or business, but it hid the secret underground assembly point and training facility for Zero Division.  Thankfully, Malcolm was far enough away from the city to be spared the up-close-and-personal view of the carnage.

            Two guards approached Malcolm and the corporal as they stepped out from under the chopper's whirring blades.  The first one offered to take Malcolm's briefcase, but he declined. The two guards then escorted the scientist and corporal to the waiting elevator.  They stepped inside, and the elevator brought them down to the basement level.

            The door opened to an awesome sight.  Malcolm found himself in a small room, about the size of a large classroom, overlooking a large expanse.  It was then that he got his first glimpse of the force that would lead the defense of Earth.  Spread below him, one-thousand strong, were the men and women of Zero Division.

            They were all engaged in different activities, such as cleaning weapons, dusting uniforms, checking equipment, or just carousing, but when Malcolm stepped to the window, they all snapped to attention.  There was a clatter of equipment quickly and roughly being put down, the rustling of clothes, and the sound of throats being cleared.  When it was all over, all one thousand men and women raised stood at perfect attention, hands raised in silent salute.  The saviors of Earth now looked to Doctor Malcolm Barnes to lead them to victory. 


	6. A Mother's Love

**Chapter 6: A Mother's Love**

****

            Bulma Briefs intently scanned the skies above Capsule Corp. for any sign of her son.  Then she saw Trunks flying low over the city, darting amongst the wrecked buildings and assorted debris.  She was alarmed to see that he was carrying a passenger.  Even from this distance, she could tell he was injured.  "Here we go again," she said grimly.

…….

            Trunks dropped down low into the main street of the city.  His home was at the end of the road, a cluster of tan domes interspersed with palm trees.  He set down in front of the largest of them as his mother came running out of the door to greet them.  

            "Trunks!  I'm so glad you're back.  I was _soo worried!"  She turned to Robbie.  "And who might you be?"_

            "My name is Robbie, Robbie Ba…"  He didn't finish, but collapsed to the ground.

Before he lost consciousness, he felt two strong arms pick him up and carry him into the house.

…….

            Robbie awoke to find himself in a bedroom in what he guessed to be one of the upper floors of Capsule Corp.  He recognized this room immediately.  It was where Trunks woke up after his first battle with the Androids at Bridgetown.  It was a disturbing parallel.  Robbie pulled back the covers to find that his wounds had been cleaned, dressed, and stitched where needed.  He suspected that Bulma was the one who had patched him up.  _She's too good at this, he thought grimly.  He was contemplating his wounds when he heard voices outside the door.  He recognized them as Bulma and Trunks._

            "Why do you have to keep risking your life like this?"  Bulma shouted.

            "Why do you keep trying to stop me, I'm only trying to save people from those mechanical bastards!"

            "I don't have a problem with you trying to help people, but I know that you want to fight the Androids, and I won't let you get yourself killed!  Are you really that eager to join Gohan?"

            "No, mom, but I won't sit by and let our world be destroyed!  One day I won't have any choice, everyone will be dead, and I will have to fight them." 

            "Trunks, you don't have to keep doing this!"

            "Yes I do."  Robbie heard a door slam, then footsteps in the hall, coming toward him.  The door opened, and a very distressed Bulma appeared.  Her hair was falling out of its usually tight ponytail, and there were red streaks running down her face from her eyes.  Before stepping into the room, she wiped her eyes and fixed her hair, and a smile came back to her lips as she walked to Robbie's bedside.  She was wearing a green sweatshirt and a pair of light-blue capris.  Robbie was struck by how beautiful she was.  The truth was, he had always had a crush on her, but seeing her in real life took his breath away.

            "How are you feeling?" She asked.

            "Much better, thanks to you."

            "It's no problem.  I see people like you all the time."  She averted her eyes and shut them tightly to keep the tears from coming back.  Robbie didn't know what to do, so he sat there until she looked back at him.  "I'm sorry you had to hear all that, Trunks can be so stubborn sometimes, and I worry about him.  He's all that I have left to remind me of the past…Goku, Yamcha…Vegeta, especially Vegeta.  What am I talking about; you don't know any of these people.  You're probably hungry, right?"

            "A little."

            "Well then, why don't you come downstairs in a few minutes for dinner?  We're having one of my specialties!"  The word 'specialties' made Robbie's stomach turn slightly, and he was tempted to ask for the location of the bathroom.  "We're having fried rice and dumplings!"  She was clearly pleased with herself.

            "Do you need to wash up first?"  She asked.

            "Uhh…Yeah."  Robbie replied.

            "It's three doors down on the right.  I'll leave now so you can change."  She then handed him a pile of clothes to wear, since his were completely destroyed in their flight from the Androids.  Robbie looked down and saw that he was wearing a hospital gown…and nothing else except his boxers.  Which, of course, meant that Bulma had to have seen him almost completely naked?  He blushed slightly, trying to decide whether to be embarrassed or happy.  Then Bulma left, and he changed into the grey sweatpants and white t-shirt with the word 'Capsule' emblazoned across the front.  It was obvious that they once belonged to Trunks.  They were large, but they didn't fall off of him, so he left the room and headed downstairs.  

            The stairs opened onto a large kitchen where Bulma and Trunks were busily preparing dinner.  They had obviously recovered from their earlier argument.  

            "Do you guys need any help?"  He asked.

            "Actually, could you get the ketchup from the fridge?  For the rice."  Bulma said, matter-of-factly.

            "Sure."  Robbie grabbed the ketchup from the huge black refrigerator, and then sat down at the table.  Trunks and Bulma followed, bringing with them steaming pots and plates of delicious food.  The amount at first seemed obscene to Robbie, but then he remembered that Trunks was half-Saiya-jin.  In light of this, he now wondered if it would be _enough_.  They both sat down, Bulma to his left, Trunks to his right.

            The family and Robbie ate in silence, not because of lack of conversation, but because they were too caught up in the process of eating.  Robbie and Trunks were both bent over their plates, inhaling their food.  Bulma slathered everything with ketchup, and then began to eat with the same frenzied pace.  The phrase "out-of –character" came to Robbie's mind, right before he jammed three dumplings down his throat.  He didn't remember ever being this hungry.  Of  course, he had also never had a day like this before.

            Needless to say, their grand feast was a short affair.  Ten minutes later, every trace of Bulma's culinary handiwork was gone.  She didn't seem too disappointed, however, the fact being that she had devoured twice as much as Robbie himself.  Ketchup dotted her chin, and flecks of rice stood out from her green hair.  She sighed with contentment, and burped demurely.  Trunks sat back in his own chair, sighing in exactly the same way, and released a volcanic belch of his own.  Robbie simply sat there, watching the two of them, while thanking God that his mother wasn't there.  If that had been the case, bodies would have hit the floor.

            However, the bulk of Robbie's attention was focused on how he was going to break the truth about him to Bulma and Trunks.  He just hoped they wouldn't be too shocked.  Robbie began to speak.

            "Bulma, thanks for the meal.  It was delicious.  And thanks for taking me in, it's been kind of a rough day."

            "Oh, it's no problem, honey.  I see people like you all the time.  Sometimes this place is packed so full, it's like a hotel!"  She said, almost cheerfully.

            "And Trunks, thank you especially.  If it hadn't been for you, I would've been road pizza."

            "No problem, kid."

            "Now, I've got something that both of you should hear.  It's something about me.  Trunks, remember I said that I lived with my aunt, and that my parents were dead?"

            "Yeah.  Are you saying that it wasn't the truth?"

            "No, I 'm sorry, it wasn't.   I didn't tell you the real truth because it was way too complicated to be explained at the time.  The fact is,  I'm not from around here."

            "Where are you from then?  North City?  East City?"

            "No, Trunks, you don't understand.  I'm…not…"

            "Where are you from?"

            "I'm not from this world!"

            A shocked silence followed Robbie's statement.  Trunks' eyes went wide and Bulma stared at him.  She was the one to break the silence.

            "Not from this world?  Are you an alien?"

            "No,  I'm not an alien.  I'm human like you, but  I come from Earth in another universe.  A different Earth, but something bad is about to happen there, and I need Trunks' help."

            Bulma and Trunks still stared at him, curiously shocked.

            "Listen, I know I can't prove any of this, but…"  Robbie was cut off by the appearance of a bright dot of white light.   It opened into a one-foot diameter portal, and a small black box flew from it and landed on the table in front of him.  It hung in the air, for a second more, then disappeared.  All eyes were on Robbie.

            With great trepidation, Robbie picked up the black box, which was the size of an eyeglass case and made of an extremely light metal, probably titanium.  There was a small slider on the front edge, and Robbie pushed it to the left.  The box sprang open, revealing a tan felt interior.  On the left was a large red button, in the middle was a keypad, and on the right, a green button the same size as the red button.  On the other piece of the case was a small LCD display, which was currently flashing green, the same green as the mysterious unlabeled button.  _What is this thing?  Wait a minute, this came through a portal!  It must be from my Dad.  Maybe I'm supposed to push the green button?  Robbie pressed it, and the flashing green on the display disappeared, replaced by the stern face of Dr. Malcolm Barnes.  Robbie opened his mouth to speak, thinking this was a direct line to his father, but stopped when Dr. Barnes started speaking, unaware of his son's presence, he simply listened._

            "_This message is for Robert Barnes.  Robbie, this message is only a recording, but it is very important that you hear my words.  There is no way  to directly contact you, and I will explain why in a moment.  First of all, a word on the device in front of you.  It has many features, but you only need to know its primary function: getting you home.  This is an uplink to the gate, and when you press the red button, you will be pulled back to our world.  This can be used to transport multiple people, as long as they are in physical contact with you.  Use this to get the Z-Fighters back here.  Second, I have some vital news for you.  I have calibrated the machine to be more accurate, thus making the arrival of this black box possible.  However, I probably will not be joining you, as I have other matters to attend to here.  _

_            Now, you are still wondering why we can't communicate.  The answer is simple: time dilation.  In short, it is the difference in time flow between one universe and another: the DBZ universe, and our own.  In this case, the ratio is 365:1, meaning that for every day that passes here, one year will pass there.  We can't communicate because no system would be able to handle the massive amount of data being sent through, since your time flows so much faster, and it would be impossible to decipher anyway.  It is for this reason that only recordings can be used.  _

_            This brings me to our next problem.  The machine has suffered a slight overload due to sending you through.  It was a simple problem to fix, of course, but it has left the Gate in no condition to operate for a full Earth day.  This, unfortunately, means that you will be stranded in that world for a full year.  I'm sorry, son.  However, you must keep the Z-Fighters close at hand for the whole year, until the machine is ready for a second transport.  Also, see what else you can find that may help us, and bring them back also.  Machines, technologies, even magical items; whatever can defeat the invader.  Remember this: all of Earth is counting on you.  You must not fail.  Remember also that I have full faith in you and your ability to complete the task at hand, and that I and your mother love you very much.  Good luck._

Robbie clicked the box shut and slumped back in his chair.  His father still didn't know about the mix-up, and now he was stuck here for a _full year.  What was he going to do now?_

            "Robbie," Bulma began, "what is going on in your world that made you come here?  Was that man on the recording your father?"  Her eyes were locked with his, and Robbie saw understanding and caring in them.  Her hand reached out to touch his.

            "Yeah, that was my dad.  He's a scientist in my world.  Well, a physicist actually.  He's the one who built the machine that got me here."

            "Robbie, who is that invader your father mentioned?"  Trunks asked.

            "That's the reason I'm here.  My dad knows a lot of scientists in all kinds of fields. One of them is in this group called S.E.T.I. or The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.  They have all these radio telescopes pointed at the sky, and they're basically looking for signals from alien races or planets.  

            Well, a couple of days ago,  S.E.T.I picked up something.  It was an alien radio signal coming from somewhere, but it was in ordinary military code and the message was in English.  The source of the message came from somewhere past Pluto.  When decoded, they found out that it was a declaration of war on my planet.  It said it was coming to destroy everything."

            "What is this thing?"  Trunks asked.

            "My dad told me that S.E.T.I scanned it with their radio telescopes, and found out that it was made with some weird materials and metals no one had ever heard of.  They also realized that it looked like a man, only it was seven feet tall."

            "Wait a minute.  A man made of metal?  An _android?!"  Trunks eyes went blank as all the connotations of that word passed through his mind.  Pain.  Destruction.  Loss.  Those things were going to happen to Robbie's world._

            "Yes."

            "Did your father send you here to save you from it?"  Bulma asked.

            "No.  He sent me here so _I could save Earth."_

            "He sent you _alone_?"

            "Yes, but he didn't know I'd get sent here.  We both though the machine would drop me off in the past, so I could get Goku, Vegeta, and the others to come to my world and fight the invader.  He tried to send me to a place that wasn't dangerous, but he made a mistake.  I think we used the wrong tape." Robbie cursed himself for not keeping his extensive collection in better order.  He had a habit of watching the entire Trunks Saga, then 'History of Trunks', which was about this current time.  He probably put 'History of Trunks' in the 'Z Warriors Prepare' box, and of course his father trusted him to get the right tape, so it was his own fault that he was in his current predicament.  

            "Wrong tape?"

            "Yeah…um, nevermind.  I'll explain it to you later."  That was another explanation in itself.  _Hey, Bulma, did you know that your world is the subject of an anime series?  _Robbie desperately wanted to avoid _that _revelation, but it was integral to why he was here.  Besides, he didn't want to hold back from Bulma.  He was _quite_ taken with her, even though she probably had a decade on him.

            "These _are dangerous times.  Everyone you mentioned is dead.  If only you could go back."  Bulma said._

            "I can't!  I have to save Earth, no matter what! Besides, there's still one fighter left.  Trunks is the strongest guy on this planet.  He could help me.  He could fight the android!"

            Both Bulma's and Trunks' eyes widened at this statement.  Bulma's maternal instinct kicked in again, and she bristled at the thought of her only child fighting _anything.  She didn't directly attack Robbie, though.  She understood why he would ask.  Trunks stood up and made to speak._

            "Robbie, if what you say is true, then I would like nothing more than to help you save your planet.  But I can't leave my world right now.  I can't go anywhere else until my own androids are destroyed."

            "You won't help?"

            "Sorry, kid."  With that Trunks turned, and walked out of the room.  Robbie could only sit there.  Trunks wasn't going to leave with him.

            "I'm sorry, Robbie.  Trunks is adamant about defeating them.  He can't think of anything else until he's reached his goal.  He's definitely his father's son."

            "It's alright, I'm going to be stuck here for a year.  That should be plenty of time."  But inside, Robbie was doubtful.  After the fight at Bridgetown, Trunks would go to the past.  His battles would take a couple of years to finish.  By that time, everyone on Earth would be dead, and it wouldn't take the invader long to wreck everything that Robbie cared about.

            Bulma began to clean up the dishes.  Robbie got up and headed outside to find Trunks.


	7. Breakthrough

**Chapter 7: Breakthrough**

****

            Trunks slammed the door on his way out, and walked across the field to the edge of the debris field that used to be his home city.  He came here often, usually after he'd had a fight with his mom about his latest run-in with the Androids.  Why couldn't she understand what he was trying to do?  And now this kid shows up from another _universe, asking him to leave his world to go fight some _other _android.  Everyone was trying to stop him!_

            All he needed was some courage, and some luck.  One day soon, the androids would attack another city, and he would be there.  He would not let another place suffer the same fate as West City.  So it was decided.  The next time the Androids showed themselves, Trunks would take them down.

            "Trunks!"  It was Robbie.

            "What's up?"

            "You're going to fight the Androids soon, right?"

            "Yeah…how did you know that?"

            "It's not hard to figure out.  You hate their guts.  It's inevitable."

            "Yeah, exactly."

            "I was wondering if I could help in any way."

            "There's nothing you can do; your power level is way too weak.  Do you even know how to fly?" 

            "Not really…"

            "Exactly.  You would only get in my way.  Unless you can become real strong, real quick, then there's nothing you can do."

            "Darn!"  Robbie hung his head in shame.

            "Listen, kid, I know how you feel.  I used to be like you.  You really want to save your planet, don't you?"

            "Yeah."

            "Don't worry, I'll have those Androids licked before the year is out, then we'll go to your world and take out the other one.  No problem."

            "Okay, I guess."

            "Cheer up; everything's going to be alright.  Just let me handle this.  Now I gotta go out on patrol.  Tell my Mom I'll be back in a couple of hours."

            "Right."  Trunks rose up into the sky, went Super Saiya-jin, and blasted off for the horizon.  Robbie didn't see any of this though, since his human eyes were too slow to track such rapid movement.  Disappointment overtook him.

            Trunks was so confident in himself.  Too confident, like Vegeta.  Unfortunately, he also shared Vegeta's rotten luck.  Both thought that they could beat the Androids, but Vegeta died in their first appearance, and Trunks would be beaten up badly in a few months when the Androids attacked Bridgetown.  Then he would use the Time Capsule to go back to the past and alter history, creating another timeline, yet not fixing his own.  By the time he came back and took care of the Androids here, years would have passed.  Robbie's Earth would be long gone.  

            Everything he loved: His father, mother, friends, even teachers, as well as every home he'd ever known.  Robbie wasn't the crying type, but his cheeks were getting red, and his eyes beginning to sting.  They blurred with tears as he stumbled his way back into the dome house.  He shuffled through the kitchen and up to the room that Bulma had given him.  He collapsed in a heap on the bed, where the bulk of his tears began to flow.

            It was hopeless!  Robbie was powerless to alter the events that were going to occur in this world _and his world!  Countless people were going to die everywhere he went, and destruction would come to so many places that, until now, had only known peace.  Even Robbie's home, Los Angeles, would be destroyed, and Robbie's family would be dead.  Robbie would be left all alone, adrift, not able to affect change on any part of history: past, present, or future.  He would be helpless!  He would…_

            Robbie lay there, face down, mind whirling, as two warm hands pulled him up to a sitting position and circled his body.  Gentle words entered his ears and the hands made calming circular motions on his back.  He realized who it was immediately.

            "Thanks, Bulma."

            "You're very welcome, now what's bothering you so much?"  Robbie didn't look up; he was too comfortable in his current position.  Instead, he shut his eyes and began to tell Bulma of all that he was feeling.

            "It's hopeless."  He said with a great sigh.  "If Trunks won't help me, then there's nothing that anyone can do.  My world's finished."  Robbie began to cry again, but held back his tears.

            "There, there…all is never lost.  There is always hope somewhere, even in the darkest of times.  You only have to keep believing."

            "How can you say that?  There is no one on my world strong enough to even _touch_ this thing that's coming, the army can't stop it, and I sure as hell can't do anything, so what is there to hope for?  An act of God?"

            "Maybe.  Or maybe you're not thinking of everything."  Robbie couldn't believe that Bulma could be wrong, so he thought hard.  When the Androids first attacked, they killed all the Z-fighters with the exception of Gohan and Trunks.  Then, Gohan was killed by the Androids several years later, leaving Trunks as the only surviving Super Saiya-jin.  Thus he was the only one with even a chance of defeating them.  Also, Piccolo was dead and the Dragon Balls were gone, meaning that no one could be wished back.  So it **_WAS_** hopeless!  Trunks was the only one who could help.  Period.  If there were Dragon Balls, though, that would be a different story...

            _Wait a minute, didn't the Nameks…?  Robbie suddenly had an Idea._

            "Bulma?"

            "Yes?"

            "Tell me something, what ever happened to the Nameks?"

            "Well, they were a race of people, actually aliens, who lived on Planet Namek not too long ago.  But their world was destroyed by a guy named Frieza.  Then they were transported to Earth for a little while, until they used the Dragon Balls to create a new home, New Namek."  She rattled off this information matter-of-factly, barely thinking about it.  "Wait, how did you know about the Nameks?  Is there something _else you're not telling me?"_

            "Well, you got me again.  I haven't told you much about my home, have I?"

            "No, you haven't told me anything, except that there's something bad about to happen and no one can stop it.  How does this have any thing to do with the Nameks?"

            "You guys have TV, right?"

            "Yeah, but these days it only shows news reports.  All the major stations were destroyed by the Androids when they attacked the cities.  Besides, nobody feels like entertainment anymore.  All people want to know is how to survive, and maybe, just maybe, they'll hear news of the Androids defeat."

            "Trust me, that day will come eventually.  But like I was saying, in my world we have TV and it still shows entertainment.  In fact, there are hundreds of stations to choose from.  My favorite show is on a station called Cartoon Network.  It's nothing but all cartoons, all the time.  They even have shows from Japan that they dubbed in the English language and sent over to America.  

            "Wait, Japan, America?  What are these places?  I've never heard of them."

            "They're countries on my planet.  Like I was saying, though, I mostly watch the Japanese cartoons, which are called 'anime.' There's one anime I think you'd particularly like."

            "What's it called?"

            "Dragon Ball Z."

            "Dragon Ball!  What's it about?!"  Bulma sounded excited now, but Robbie knew that she didn't understand yet what he was telling her.

            "To be honest: Goku. And everyone else, including you.  It tells Goku's life story, from the time he met you, all the way up to…well, I haven't even seen the ending.  I've seen up to the Namek Saga."  This was, of course, a lie because Robbie didn't want to tell Bulma of the future.

            "That's amazing...but how do people in your world know about mine?  Do you have some machine that can see other worlds?"

            "No.  Actually, most people believe that your world is fake, except for my father, who knew about parallel universes."

            "So _that's how you knew about the Nameks!  But why did you ask about them?"_

            "I asked because you said that there is always a way.  I think I've found it.  Do you know where the Nameks went after they left Earth?"

            "Yeah, New Namek.  They chose a new leader so the Dragon Balls wouldn't disappear, I think his name was Moori, and went to the new planet."

            "Bulma, do you understand what this means?  There are Dragon Balls somewhere!  If we can get to them, we can wish everyone back!"   

            "Oh my god…You're right!  The Namekian Dragon Balls give three wishes, meaning we can get three of them back at once.  We'll be able to wish back Goku, And Gohan, and…Vegeta."  Tears of joy began to leak from Bulma's eyes.  Robbie wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.  Yet he was happy as well.

            Once again, his hope surged.  With all of the Z-fighters, or even some of them, they could beat the Androids and then go to his world to beat the invader.  All they had to do now was get to New Namek.  Then, everything would be all right.   


	8. Takeoff

Chapter 8: Takeoff

"Hey, Bulma?"  Robbie asked as they descended, "Where are we going?" 

            "You'll see in a minute."  She responded.

            They continued down the steel steps, turned 180 degrees at the landing, and continued down another flight.  It was darker now, and Robbie's eyes could barely penetrate the gloom.  The air was colder, too, and he began to hug himself to keep warm.  Finally, they reached the bottom, a short, concrete hallway with a door on either side and one on the end.  Bulma walked over to the one on the left and swept a keycard through the control panel on the left side.  The door didn't open immediately as Robbie thought it would.  Instead, he heard the thuds and clicks of closing relays coming through the walls.  More clicks and then, after about a minute, a klaxon blared and the door rushed open with a *whoosh*.   Bulma stepped inside and Robbie followed, in awe of the sight that met his eyes.

            "Pretty nice, huh?"  Bulma stood and surveyed her private lab with a look of pride.  "Been mine since college, when my dad gave it to me as a graduation gift.  I swear, I must have spent the entire summer down here!"  She laughed warmly, but quickly fell silent again.  Robbie was broken out of his trance as he became aware of the intense nostalgia that once again surrounded her.

            He knew that this, too, was a result of the Androids' presence, and though his fifteen-year-old mind couldn't comprehend it, he had just made an unconscious decision to end that presence.  He didn't know how, but he vowed to bring peace to this broken Earth and end the suffering of Bulma, his quasi-dream-girl.  He thought these thoughts, however, in a detached way, not realizing that he was still a weak human boy.

            Robbie didn't hear her when she started to speak again.  "Huh?"

            "I said, does your Dad have a lab like this?"

            "Kinda, but the walls and floor are tan, and he's got all these benches covered with little things, but I don't know what they are.  His is smaller, too."  Robbie stared at the lofty ceiling, the stainless steel walls, and the mysterious equipment everywhere.  Yet what caught his eye most was the towering machine in the center of the room.  He stood, transfixed by realization.  It was the Time Machine, the device used by Trunks to save the past and later by Cell in an attempt to destroy it.  "Holy cow!  It's the Time Machine!"  Robbie blurted out.  Bulma, who was sitting at a lab table behind him, jumped up as if he had slapped her butt.

            "How do you know that!?"

            "Ummm..uh-oh."

            "Was that in the series too?"

            "Yeah, and a movie."  Robbie was once again reminded of his screw-up, and registered another mental kick to his behind.

            "Wow.  So am I really famous over in your world?"  

"Yeah, lots of people watch the show, and some even write extra stories about your life."

"How do they know about me?"

"They don't.  They just guess and write whatever comes to mind.  It's called fan fiction."

"Interesting."  Bulma said nothing more and went back to the piece of equipment she was working on.  Robbie walked over to the machine and ran a hand down one sleek metal side.

"Is this thing going to get us to New Namek?"

"Yup.  All I have to do is add this component here to allow for a spatial jump, and we'll be there in no time.  We could probably get back before Trunks comes home."

            "Does Trunks know we're doing this?"

            "Of course not.  He'd worry too much, and without me to watch him, he might go do something stupid, again."

            "Oh.  Do you still have Dragon Radar?"

            "Yup.  It's right on the counter over there.  Could you grab it?"

            "Sure"  Robbie walked over and laid his hands on the circular object the size of a large pocket watch.  Emulating the show, he clicked the button on the top.  As he expected, the screen was blank.

            "Okay, I'm finished!  Let's jack this baby in and blast off!"

            Bulma walked over to the machine and carefully began connecting into the electronic network of the craft.  After soldering the final connections and affixing the plate securely into the side, she was finished.  She stood, wiped the sweat from her brow, and turned to Robbie.

            "Ready to go, kid?"

            "Ready when you are, ma'am."  They both grinned stupidly at one another.  

            Robbie grabbed a ladder, placed it against the side of the machine and motioned Bulma up.  

            "Ladies first."  He said.

            "What a cute little gentleman!"  She said as she climbed the ladder and tousled Robbie's hair.  Robbie followed, but at the top he found Bulma standing in the cockpit.

            "This thing only has one seat, so I'm going to have to sit on your lap." Robbie reddened visibly.

            "Ummm…. No problem…"

            He sat down in the plush captain's chair.  Bulma followed.  Robbie's face quickly turned a shade of red that would make a tomato jealous.  He also found, to his horror, that as soon as Bulma's rear end met his lap, he was hard. 

            _You're kidding me!  Of all the times…_

Apparently Bulma didn't notice, so Robbie just grit his teeth and tried to forget about it.  Meanwhile, she began punching commands into the keyboard, and the machine powered up.  He heard a humming, then a whirring noise, and the machine began to levitate.  

            "Opening bay doors.  Brace for launch!"  Sunlight filtered in as the roof of the lab split open.  The machine began to rise up through the narrow passage until it finally emerged above Capsule Corp.  It began to pick up speed and push higher, and now the entire ruined city was in view.  The machine suddenly surged forward and within a minute, they were through the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere, and out in the edges of space.

            "Okay, Rob, here's the fun part.  Hold on!"  Bulma slammed forward on a lever, and the ship was instantly surrounded by azure fire.  It surged upward like a river, and the ship was carried forward on the swift current.  Then they were hurtling through the void like a rifle shot.  Bulma gripped the controls and guided the craft through the  narrow tube.  They twisted, turned, dove, and dipped.  Twice Robbie suppressed the urge to lose his lunch in Bulma's hair.  Bulma, meanwhile, was the epitome of cool, nimbly guiding them through the winding passage.  And then they were through.

            The stars appeared once again, and everything was normal, except for the planet drifting lazily beneath them.  There was the shining emerald: New Namek. 

            Bulma drew the lever back and guided the craft toward the rotating sphere.  As they moved closer, heat began to build on the outside of the craft and a red corona appeared on the outside of the cockpit.

            "Uh…Bulma?  Do you know what you're doing?"  Robbie stammered.

            "Sure…Well, sort of.  I've only done a reentry once with this machine."

            "Anything before that?"

            "No."  

            "How did the first one go?"

            "I walked away from it, but it took me three months to rebuild this crate." Robbie blanched, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

            The craft began to buck and rock as Bulma fought for control.  The corona was blazing red and the external temperature meter was pegged.  Robbie grit his teeth and held on as they passed through the outer atmosphere and appeared in the skies above New Namek.  Winds buffeted the tiny craft and Bulma resumed her frantic fight for control.  They rocked, they barrel rolled, they looped-the-loop.  Robbie, meanwhile, fought to keep his insides on the inside.

            The craft continued to descend, but was still hurtling like a green thunderbolt.  Robbie opened his eyes briefly and took in the sights: green, and lots of it.  Green trees, green grass, beautiful expanses of green water; it was a mirror image of the original Namek.  The he shut them tightly as the craft bounced again.  However, Bulma was gaining the upper hand, and on the view screen, Robbie saw that she was following a perfect flight path.  They were slowing down and gaining more stability.  Finally, Bulma leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief as she cut the airspeed back to leisurely pace.

            "Whew!  Well, we're still alive!"

            "_And in one piece!"  Robbie responded._

            "Watch it mister!"  Both laughed brightly.

            "Bulma, where are we going?"

            "I'm not sure.  I'm trying to find a village so we can talk to the people here.  You see, we could just lock onto the first Dragon Ball, but these things are kinda sacred to the Nameks, and they wouldn't like the idea of us just coming down here and taking them.  After all, I wouldn't blame them if they hated guys that fell from the sky."

            "Right.  So does that mean we're trying to find Moori?"

            "Umm…yeah.  I've just got to find a large population center.  There doesn't seem to be much in the…"  

            Bulma was quickly cut off as she stared out the window of the craft.  Robbie looked as well and blanched visibly.

            "Is that what I think it is?"  Robbie asked, trembling.

"Dear God, I hope not."  Bulma slammed forward on the sticks and the craft rocketed forward.  Shortly afterward, the Shenron appeared.

The gargantuan lizard surged into the inky skies.  At its base, Robbie could make out the familiar forms of the seven Namekian Dragon Balls.  There also appeared to be several of the native people gathered in a circle around them with their hands raised high.  Robbie was only briefly surprised to lay his eyes on real, live Nameks, until he noticed one form in particular.  It was an elderly man, (_Actually, Robbie thought, _there are no males or females among the Nameks, so that's not right_) ; elderly Namek who was slumped over on the ground.  As the craft drew closer to the meeting area, Robbie was able to see that all others there were worried.  Several broke ranks to run to the fallen elder.  The elder clutched the arm of the nearest  Namek, whispered something, and slumped back to the ground.  Moments later, the Shenron began to change._

Its colors became muddled and undefined as its form became mist like.  The color drained from its eyes leaving an abyss behind.  Its claws went limp and its jaw slack.  Light began to pour forth from its body in great rays and finally, it began to disappear.  It faded away and in seconds it was gone completely.  And forever.  

The skies once again cleared allowing bright sunlight to fill the skies and warm the land, but in the circle of the Nameks, all was silence.

Bulma banked the ship and set it down about fifty feet from the silent assembly.  She popped the dome, leapt swiftly to the ground, and was off like Michael Johnson before Robbie could say anything.  He quickly followed her to the assembled Nameks, where Bulma was currently unloading on them at over a mile a minute.  As Robbie drew closer to the assembly, the discussion became clearer to him. 

Bulma was asking them, (in words that blistered even Robbie's jaded ears), why the Dragon had been summoned, and what exactly had happened afterward.  As Robbie expected, they spoke English, which was in fact very good, and were amiably trying to explain the situation to a less-than-composed Bulma.  To be honest, Robbie thought she looked like a serial killer who was in the early stages of a bloody rampage.  He kept a respectful distance from the small throng.  

As the seven Nameks conversed with the one PO'd human woman, Robbie listened.  What he heard at first only mildly panicked him, and then struck mortal fear into his young heart.

Elder Moori, the cherubic Nameks explained, was ill.  About two months ago, the elder was simply strolling outside the village, admiring something he had never seen until his first day on their new world: night.  He said the stars captivated him, a "precious treasure owned by none, coveted by all." Ever since that wondrous night, he had spent at least a few minutes every night watching over his treasure, drinking in the glories of novel starlight.  

However, the storytellers continued, nights on this planet tended to be rather chill, nothing like their old world, where the suns never set and the world was suffused with limitless light and warmth.  This did not upset Elder Moori, though.  He continued his sacred watch.  

Like Master Guru before him, it began with a cough.  Elder Moori, said one of the elders who was with him then, merely shrugged it off and did not cease his silent contemplation of the heavens.  Seeing this, he took no alarm at this minute change in the Elder's condition.  Yet as the nights continued, so did the coughs, and they increased in intensity, duration, and disturbance, while taking on a phlegm-like quality.  The elders grew worried and asked him to perhaps scale back his evening strolls, maybe taking only one every week or so.  They were convinced that the constant exposure was sickening him and weakening his already frail body.  Moori refused.  A week later, he was bedridden.

Their fears were soon realized, and a frantic search began for a man of the age and power necessary to control the Dragon Balls.  A successor was desperately needed.  Elder Moori was dying, and the Dragon Balls had already been used to heal another sick elder the year before.  Moori's condition could not have come at a worse time.

The elders continued to tell of the miraculous reappearance of the Dragon Balls, and of how their hope surged at the prospect of using them to save their Elder and the power of the Dragon Balls.  That was yesterday.  The final Dragon Ball had been found this morning and was flown to this meeting place, along with a barely conscious Moori.  The Dragon was summoned, as they undoubtedly saw, only minutes ago.

At this point, Bulma lost all patience and screamed right into the placid face of the Namek speaking.

"_But why did the damn thing disappear!?"_

"Because, my lady, Moori is dead, and the Dragon Balls are gone forever."

"Wha…."  Robbie went pale.  Bulma's muscles went loose, and then limp.  She struggled to keep her feet.  Robbie saw a million expressions he could not possibly understand explode across her features.  In his own heart, fear was swelling.  Fear for himself and his home, but fear for Bulma as well.  In his head, he knew that this was her last hope of restoring the love of her life back to this plane of existence.  For him, it was the last hope of saving his world while there was still something left to save.  He felt his own energy drain from him, but pushed it all away as he saw Bulma hit her knees, her hands splayed on the ground in front of her.  Her hair hung to the ground, but could not conceal what was there for all to see: a quivering face, shock-filled eyes, and tears.  Tears of a pain so deep it turned those who felt it numb and shocked them into silence.  Tears of lost hope, of a coldness of spirit that froze the body stiff.

Robbie pushed through the Nameks and to her side.  No words were needed.  Without the slightest hesitation, Robbie hit his own knees and pulled her shaking form to his chest, just as the screams began to tear from her throat.  They snaked into his ears and turned his blood to ice water.  Never in all his sheltered sun-drenched life had he heard such a sound.  He might have if he had been in New York City on the day of fire.  Might have had he been in Iraq when the bombs and bullets fell like rain.  Might have heard it had he strolled through Bam after the Earth turned traitor against the helpless souls there.

For in Bulma's mind, all she had lost was irrevocably gone, and what little she had would soon be taken from her.  Without the power of her comrades from the past, her dear son would have no chance against the demons that stalked her world.  He would die at their hands.  All living souls would die with him.  Yet what hurt her more and deeper than that was the reality that her love and best friend was gone from her forever, that she would never see his strong, triumphant face until she herself made the final journey to Other World.  The reality of being alone and helpless was too much.  She had been so strong, strong for too damn long…she was spent.  Bulma had had enough.  

She screamed until her throat could no longer perform the action, cried until her tears were gone, convulsed until her body lacked even that paltry energy.  Then she simply collapsed to the ground, exhausted in body, mind, and soul.

Through it all, Robbie held her struggling, buckling form.  When she finally collapsed and received the blessed gift of sleep, he laid her down and reared back on his haunches as his own pain began to flow.  Yet something was different.  Robbie didn't feel hopelessness.  Didn't feel sorrow and pain and loss.  Something had risen in his once happily naïve mind that had changed the moment he heard the Dragon Balls were gone.  Something completely unlike anything that had ever risen there before.

From its depths, anger, black and uncontrolled, came forth.  Robbie, an unusually forgiving and often loving child had not thought himself capable of such a thing, and those who knew him such as his parents and multitude of loyal friends would not have realized it either.  This anger emerged partly because of his incredibly taxing circumstances, but also from the fact that it was directed at entities who were not really human.  Robbie for the most part could forgive human transgression, but the focal point of his alien rage was not totally of the species. 

Robbie, at that moment, hated, loathed, and utterly despised the Androids.  He had felt a detached hatred for them when he had watched The History Of Trunks, but that paled in insignificance when compared with the black emotion that consumed him now.  _They were the cause of all his pain.  __They were the ones responsible for __everything.  Bulma's pain, Trunks' pain, the pain of _billions _of humans who would die at the hands of another radically powerful android hurtling toward the world of his birth.  __They were the only thing standing in the way of bringing salvation home.  __They were the ones about to destroy the only life he had ever known, and _they _would pay _dearly_.  _

It no longer mattered to Robbie his lack of strength and fighting skill, for he had found the steel inside his soul.  Whatever he needed, he would get at any cost.  His world would _not die, and he would __not let any of the Androids win.  Robbie burned inside with new light: the fire of a man's determination.  Boyhood innocence disappeared without a look back.  This new being, transfigured, rose and carried the now sleeping Bulma silently toward the craft.  As he walked, the Nameks called out to him._

"Young man!  Young man, wait!"  The lead Namek strode over to him.  "The woman is exhausted.  You should let her rest until she has recovered.  We do not know why you seek the Dragon Balls, yet we understand your sorrow.  You have our sympathy, and our hospitality for as long as you need."  Robbie wanted to tell the Namek to get lost, but reconsidered when he remembered that he couldn't pilot the craft on his own.  Only Bulma could and she would have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to attempt the trip back to Earth.  Yes, rest would be the best option.  

"Where is shelter?"  Robbie asked.

"Right here."  With that, the elder pulled a small glass vial from his cloak and flung it into the field, where it transformed in a puff of smoke.  Soon Robbie was staring at a miniature Namek dwelling, appeared out of nowhere.  He stared in shock.

"Quite amazing, isn't it?  We have your woman to thank for it.  I believe she called them 'capsules.' During our time on Earth, we saw many things, but most were too  complex for a simplistic people such as us, yet this one device fascinated all.  Therefore, we discovered what it was and even learned how to produce it, thus adapting it for our own needs.  

We will need to stay here for tonight, so that Elder Moori can be properly laid to rest.  We could simply inter him now, but we elders have decided that he would want to be buried at night, in honor of his love of the stars."

"Okay, can I bring her inside?"  

"Of course, take the first bed you find."

"Thank you."  Robbie turned and entered the small, spare dwelling.  All it contained were beds and a long table in the center with eight places.  Robbie laid Bulma on the one to the left of the door, and after one final look at her sleeping face, he strolled back outside.

Robbie had much on his mind, far more than any normal fifteen-year-old would have.  He was currently attempting to find a solution to his problem.   Without any Dragon Balls, there was no way he could call back the Z-fighters, and thus no way of getting reinforcements for the battle on his own world.  Trunks was still his only hope, and unless there was some way he could give Trunks an extra advantage, he was sunk.  He thought about when the inevitable battle between Trunks and the Androids would be, and immediately his thoughts went to the movie.  He already knew the answer.  The first battle would be fought in the ruins of Bridgetown.  He had no idea when, though.  Yet he knew he had to help Trunks turn the tide, even though he had no real power in his current state.  He thought that maybe he could train, maybe using the gravity machine and some of Bulma's equipment, possibly even sparring with Trunks.  That idea was quickly rejected though, since Robbie knew he would need years to get any kind of respectable power level.  Even then it might not be enough.  He needed a power boost _fast_.  He needed to become the ultimate warrior.  He needed strength far superior to anything!  But how?!  How can one gain power so fast…

As he thought, his gaze fell upon the Time Machine.  Then it clicked in his head.  There was a way…Robbie quickly gave up hope of finding the Z-fighters.  He had something new to replace it.  He knew what he had to do.  He took one last look at Bulma to make sure she was still sleeping, then crept silently over to the green hulk and climbed inside.  

He stared silently at the array of controls.  Much to his surprise, he didn't need to know how to pilot the craft, for Bulma had placed a fool-proof placard of directions directly onto the control board.  _Most likely for Trunks when he made his first flight._  Robbie thought.  Even so, it explained in perfect English how to jump from one time to another.  Also, it explained that one could jump worlds while simultaneously jumping through time.  He checked the fuel gauge.  It was pegged on full.  The plan was complete.  He knew what to do now.

Robbie slammed the ignition switch and the craft rumbled to life.  He gripped the control yoke, eased forward, and the craft leapt up into the air and winked out of sight.   


	9. Robbie's Rise

**Chapter 9: Robbie's Rise**

****

"Arise, Dragon!" Robbie's call sounded clear and true across the open field. The seven Dragon Balls glowed with unearthly light, and then in one spectacular instant, the Eternal Dragon emerged. His endless bulk surged forward and up through the skies of Earth, slicing the clouds in two. Winds raged and the skies rolled with blackness. The Dragon spoke.

"_Why have you summoned me? Speak quickly._" Its thunderous voice shook the mountain plain with force. Robbie stood his ground however, as he bravely spoke.

_It had been three days since Robbie had plugged in the time and coordinates and blasted off from the surface of New Namek. His destination: Earth. The time: 40 years into the past. His target: Earth's Dragon Balls. At this point, Earth was not under any large threats, and Robbie set about gathering the Dragon Balls with ease, being he knew where they were and could reach them easily. Over the next couple of days, he did just that, and soon he had all seven in his care. It had not been a complete cakewalk, however._

_ The first one was hidden in the lair of a Tyrannosaur. Robbie knew dinosaurs existed on this world, but this was ridiculous. In the end, the real trouble came not from the Tyrannosaur, but from its babies, who tried to make a chew toy out of Robbie. Somehow, he escaped. But the fun was still not over as Robbie had to make a hasty retreat with one mad momma hot on the tail of the Time Machine. Piece of cake._

_ After that, things were fine up until the second-to-last Dragon Ball. Here, Robbie had to do something he really didn't want to: steal from the home of Son Gohan, Goku's soon-to-be grandfather. The home was small, and he thought that Gohan was away, right up until a hand grabbed him by the foot, flipped him, and slammed him into the tile floor. Through vision clouded with stars, a smiling old man grinned down at him._

_ "Well, well m'boy, what're you doin down there?"_

_ Robbie could barely manage a half-hearted groan in response._

_ "Can't talk yet? Okay, I can wait." The old man went to sweeping the floor as Robbie fought to get his wind back. Finally, he reached his feet._

_ "Looky there, he's up! Now m'boy, tell me why you had to come in here without knockin first." Robbie was caught off guard by the pleasant, conversational tone of what was obviously an interrogation. He very rightly suspected that although the man was not looking at him and seemed quite harmless, there was actually no way to escape unless the man wanted him to. He was truly trapped. Like a rat. Therefore he decided to come clean._

_ "Um, sir? I didn't come to rob you… at least not totally. I just…wanted that…" Robbie motioned to the mantle, where an orange orb emblazoned with four stars sat. Gohan saw where the boy's finger was pointing and smiled slightly._

_ "Oh, that." A knowing smile crossed his lips, as if he knew how much Robbie needed it. He strolled over and picked it up into his callused hands. "You know what this is?"_

_ "Yes, sir. It's a Dragon Ball. The fourth one."_

_ "My, how astute. Yes, you are correct. I suppose you also know of the wish, then."_

_ "I do. When all seven Dragon Balls are brought together, the Eternal Dragon is summoned who then grants the gatherer one wish. Anything he desires."_

_ "I guess, then, there is something you desire?"_

_ "Yes, sir."_

_ "Well then, here." He tossed it gently to Robbie, who deftly caught it. He was just…giving it to him? _

_ "Sir? I can have this?"_

_ "Sure. You seem harmless enough, and you must want that wish very badly, so I think you need that old piece of glass more than I do."_

_ "Even after I tried to steal from you?" _

_ "You said it yourself, you only wanted the Ball. You told me the truth, and I have no quarrel with those who do such a thing. You are a kind-hearted person. If any evil would come from your wish, then I would not let you make it. Yet you are a good boy, and I know that your choice is being made for the benefit of someone else, am I correct?"_

_ "Yes, sir."_

_ "As I thought. If you have business to attend to then so be it. I won't keep you any longer." The old man waved to the door, and Robbie turned on his heel and left, stunned by what had just happened. He simply had not expected it to be so easy. Anyway, it was a welcome change from all the problems he had been putting up with since he had embarked on this journey. He heard the old man call a quick 'Good Luck!' and continued up the hillside to his hidden Time Machine. Once inside, he blasted off for the location of the final Ball. It was in a mountain cave only twenty klicks south of his current position. In an instant, he was there._

_ The cave was uninhabited and Robbie effortlessly claimed the final prize. He brought it over to the circle of the other Balls, and they began to glow with iridescent light. Standing over them, Robbie thought of what he must now do. The wish that seemed to make so much sense before was beginning to take its toll. Robbie was more afraid then he had ever been. This wish had the distinct possibly of altering his life forever. There would be no turning back. _

_ Robbie had gained enough maturity at that point to know that he stood at a crossroads. Down one road, there was the choice of simply flinging the Dragon Balls out into the grass and going back to Bulma, then trying to think of some other way to help Trunks, yet the down that road also lay the destruction of his home. Deep inside, he knew that this choice was necessary. This _sacrifice _was necessary. So in this way, Robert Barnes stopped thinking of himself, rose to the occasion, and spoke his fateful words._

"Eternal Dragon! I wish to be a Saiya-jin!"

_Your wish is granted…_

The Dragon's eyes glowed crimson, and Robbie felt unknown power snake its way into his form. At first it was merely a buzz, but soon it built into a roar. He felt his body respond almost instantly as the unknown light took him over from head to toe. Then the changes started. In his body. In his mind. In his soul.

Deep inside, the change took hold. Deep inside, his body responded to the Dragon's magic. It started in his bones. All at once, every single one he possessed cracked, broke, and finally shattered into fragments. Robbie felt pain unimaginable and as such precluded any mere scream. Without support, his limp frame slumped to the ground, where the magical change continued. In the midst of blinding agony came the next step. Bone fragments began to draw themselves together, stronger, tighter than before. A new skeletal structure formed, far superior to the previous.

Next came a fresh wave of pain, and Robbie passed out. His muscles were taking up the call. They expanded, then destroyed themselves in one titanic instant. The boy's body jerked. They too began to rebuild, again, stronger then before. And no system of this human boy went unaffected. Nerves, blood vessels, organs, and even skin were changing into their most superior form. Skin became thick enough to receive a direct ki blast. Nerves conducted signals faster, allowing for quadrupled reaction time. Blood cells mutated to carry more oxygen and provide the endurance necessary to sustain a warrior for days. Enhanced musculature delivered the power necessary for maximum destruction. 

Yet Robbie's mind was changing also. New thoughts, new ways of thinking echoed where once only school and girls occupied. Instincts, senses, attack methods, and the renown fighting hunger of the Saiya-jins took over this innocent mind. Robbie, still unconscious, barely noticed. Physical changes continued, making the final alterations that would forever mark him as inhuman. His teeth lengthened into fangs, his hair lengthened, turned jet-black, and spiked out behind his head in a new look all his own. Finally, his spine lengthened and pierced downward through the skin of his extreme lower back. The exposed bone grew a furry covering, and the most prominent Saiya-jin feature had been created: the tail. After this, the magic of the dragon balls ceased to run in his body.

The Dragon's single wish granted, it disappeared back into its fiery home in the bowels of the Earth, and the seven mystic Dragon Balls scattered to the ends of the Earth. 


	10. There's A New Sheriff

**Chapter 10: There's a New Sheriff…**

****

            The skies cleared and sunlight was allowed once again to rule the mountain plain.  The Dragon Balls were gone, the Eternal Dragon was gone, and everything returned to its previous state.  But in the middle of all the natural beauty lay one boy would never be the same again.

            Robert Barnes lay still among the shifting grasses, unconscious.  Meanwhile, the wind caressed his new body, changed drastically from its original.  The air gently ruffled his newly spiked hair which stood off the back of his head in a fan, slid along well-defined muscle groups, and caused his tail to flap like a windsock.  Because of all this commotion, the young, and new, Saiya-jin began to awaken.  Eyelids opened, and blue eyes looked upon the scenery.

            Robbie was up in a flash, gently pushing himself from the ground.  Or rather, what he _thought_ was gentle.  The extra power boost sent him reeling up thirty feet in the air.  A scream echoed throughout the valley.

            The Saiya-jin came back to ground and stood stock still, completely unnerved by what had just occurred.  Still not yet awake, Robbie did not yet realize that his wish had been granted.  The boy suddenly jerked as an unknown sensation came to his waist.  _Something_ was slithering around him.  He was terrified to look down, thinking that some DBZ creature had him and stood ready to crush him like a bug, also not realizing that he was now more than a match for even the Tyrannosaur that had provided him such a merry escapade earlier.  No mere Earth creature would be able to hurt him now.  

            Finally, he screwed up the courage to look down, and saw the furry appendage wrapped around him.  He stiffened again, but now the appendage had disappeared.  With a shock, he realized it was still there, right next to his ear.  Turning his head, he saw it wavering on his right side like a snake at the mercy of the charmer.  Then it hit him: this was no creature, this was him.  Or rather, a part of him.  Slowly, the tail relaxed to a comfortable position around his waist, and Robbie finally understood.  His wish had been granted, and he was a Saiya-jin.

            Immediately his lips parted in a smile, but not one of the goofy smiles that had won him dates to the school dances in his previous life.  This was the sardonic smirk of a man who knew that the long awaited moment had arrived, and delighted in his first opportunity to take action.  And take action he did.  Robbie began to test his body in a variety of tasks.  

            He began with the simplest action of all: running.  One muscle twitch later and he was rocketing across the mountains at over 75 mph, crossing the valley in mere seconds.  He now had speed that would make Johnson break down and cry.  Next, he practiced jumping, finding a tall cliff face interspersed with ledges.  Three jumps and 700 feet of elevation later, Robbie stood atop the stone ridge.  Jordan no longer held the title of Air Man.  This was followed by a series of graceful flips and mid-air somersaults along the summit which would have caused an Olympic gymnast to run screaming back to the locker rooms, following with a barrage of kicks and punches that would have elicited a thumbs-up from Bruce Lee.  His exercises complete, he stood in place, 700 feet up, and decided to attempt the real test of his power.  He walked to the edge, looked down once, and leapt off the cliff.

            Of course, Robbie was not trying his hand at becoming a vertical crash dummy.  He was attempting what, in his mind, was the most basic of a Z warrior's skills: Flight.  Trunks had implied that if he couldn't do even that, he was of no use in the coming fight.  Therefore he decided to start there.

 The ground came at him swiftly and inexorably.  He had only seconds to pull out or he would perform the most graceful of pile drivers straight into the earth with the finality of a coffin nail.  In a panic, he realized he_ had_ to get this right.  Or the results would **not** be pretty.

            Robbie's thoughts began to whirl like a gyroscope as his mind kicked into action and began searching for…what was it?  What did he need, what kind of power…

            _That's it!  Ki!_

            Robbie switched from searching his body and mind and instead began to search his soul.  He was searching for his warrior's lifeblood, the force known as ki that would allow him first to save his neck and later to block attacks, sense power levels, and even strike back with power all his own.  Yet for now he just needed the power not to go _splat!_

            The ground rose closer and Robbie began to get desperate.  He had a hold of something, glimmering in his mind, but he couldn't quite figure out how to use that quasi-tangible something.  He tried to move it into his body, even just his neck, _anywhere _where it could be some use. 

            Twenty feet above the ground, it finally moved, but not where Robbie had expected, and not even really under his direction.  It just sort of…_twitched_.  One second he was plummeting toward his doom, the next his hand flew out, palm down, and a bright flash erupted.  It took the shape of a ball and slammed into the ground directly in front of him.  Dirt, grass, and a huge shockwave ricocheted back and Robbie was hurled off his flight, or rather _fall_-path, and backwards into the stone cliff face.  The impact knocked the wind out of him, ripped his shirt, and scraped the skin from his back, but a few seconds and twenty feet later, he was on the ground again, though unceremoniously so.  He looked around at the ten-foot wide crater he had made and then fallen into with a disinterested sort of satisfaction.

            _Whatta ya know?  I made a ki-ball._

            He was a bit surprised that he would learn that technique first, but decided that it would be best to start there, where he didn't have to worry about killing himself if he just plain couldn't do it.  At least with a ki-ball or blast, if you screwed up, it was still going away from you, not toward you.           

            So Robbie began his first training session.  Without pressure, trainers, or even enemies, he simply tried to find his ki, form a ball with it, and launch it at some unsuspecting cliff face.  After about an hour, he could launch one at will.  They weren't very powerful, only making scorch marks on the stone faces, but Robbie knew he had to start small.  He couldn't tell if that was his old self or his Saiya-jin self instructing him.  

Almost without realizing it, he began to picture _their _faces on the cliff walls.  All around him, he could see the sneering faces of the Androids.  In some places, it was Seventeen's fierce countenance, in others, it was Eighteen's cold mask of frozen beauty that mocked him.  He continued his attacks, but now they were growing in intensity, and Robbie did not notice at all.  He soon found himself consumed by the same emotion that had gripped him on Namek as he clutched a distraught Bulma to his chest.  Except this time it was felt by a Saiya-jin heart.  A heart beating inside a body now capable of responding to that anger.

            Slowly, his attacks grew in ferocity.  The ki-balls grew in size and power, and they no longer simply scorched the exposed rock, they pulverized it.  First the craters were a foot in diameter, then two, then three, and finally five as Robbie stepped up his speed and rained violent power on every crag and precipice he could see.  On every thing that bore the faces of his enemies.  He began with both hands, then brought them together for another burst of power.  Within minutes explosions resounded through the peaceful valley in unending succession and the Earth shook with valence power.  Growing tired of simple energy, Robbie leapt forward and engaged the now masticated cliff walls in a series of punches and kicks, bringing down many stone monoliths.  Only when every feature of everything in his sights was completely decimated did he stop.

            Following this, Robbie's energy and battle-lust drained from him, and he slumped to the grass.  He was completely exhausted from is exercises, and sprawled out flat on the ground.  Yet in spite of it all, Robbie reveled in the pain.  It was good, and it meant that he was now capable of something, as the decimated walls of the valley bore testament to.  

            Robbie stood once again.  Turning slowly, he surveyed his creation, or rather, anti-creation.  Deep in his primeval psyche, ruled by instinct, all seemed right and good to him.  He no longer viewed the sneering faces of the Androids anywhere.  He was about to declare victory when he realized that the Androids were never here at all, but still lived in a time beyond this one.  The very shadow of their existence filled Robbie with another wave of fresh rage, and he growled audibly.  Then, snapping into action, he sprinted across the open field and back to the time machine.  He began punching in commands with manic speed, and was about to wink out when he realized what destination he had just laid in.  He was about to head back to Earth, presumably to challenge the Androids.  The only problem was he had left Bulma on Namek, and if he didn't go back and get her…well, let's just say Robbie wasn't very confident that even his new Saiya-jin powers could save him from _her_ wrath.  

            Robbie shuddered once, then changed his course to include a stop on Namek to grab his woman.  In a moment, the Time Machine was airborne and shooting through the temporal streams to its destination.  In minutes, Robbie was standing once again on the surface of Namek.

……..

            Not far from the place of the new Saiya-jin, a woman lay inside an alien building.  She lay on a plain steel cot, covered only with a blanket, for the owners of the building had no need of superfluous comfort.  It was here that she slept.  Here she slept and dreamt.  For her in her mind, she was not on an alien world, lying alone.  She was on her home world, and next to her companion, the one she loved.  Bulma Briefs dreamt, and remembered.

            _She awoke that night drenched in a cold sweat.  The dream had come to her again.  No, the nightmare which had haunted her for the past three nights.  Her love, her life, gone, leaving her alone to raise their son in the shadow of a terrible evil.  It was the one thing she feared more than anything.  She needed him.  She needed Vegeta, alive and well, and not dead on some godforsaken battlefield.  _

_            She looked over to his side of the bed, and panicked.  He was not there!  She looked all around the room, thinking he would be sitting in a chair, or doing a few hundred push-ups before bed, but his presence was absent.  She trained her ears to listen, but all was silence.  No creaking floorboards to herald his approach, no sound of creaking doors, no breathing, no footfalls.  The home was quiet.  Naught stirred.  _

_            "No…"  Bulma breathed silently.  This could not be happening, she told herself.  The dream could not come true.  Vegeta could not be … gone…_

_Bulma began to panic.  A cold vice gripped her heart.  Her hands shook and her palms grew slick with sweat.  Slowly, her blood began to freeze inside her veins, and in her heart.  She looked even more frantically, and still could not find the object of her need.  Finally, the panic took complete control and she lost herself amid the fear. _

_"Vegetaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  An anguished wail stormed the halls and passages of Capsule Corp.  Resounding from walls, it traveled down every corridor and continued long after the voice that created it fell silent.  _

_One moment later, a black flash tore into the bedroom, shattering the door to pieces and sending them everywhere.  The flash stood at the foot of the bed, one hand glowing with a dark blue light.  The flash spoke urgently, albeit angrily._

_"What is it?!  Are you hurt?!  Did you see a monster?!"  Vegeta stood his ground.  Bulma merely blinked a few times.  Vegeta's teeth remained clenched and the room was still full of his ki.  The energy he was exuding made her hair stand on end.  Bulma blinked a few more times, and finally accepted the reality of what was in front of her eyes.  Her love was safe, and very much alive.  Inside, it felt as if every cell in her body breathed a sigh of relief._

_"Umm…nothing…"she stammered, now a more than a little embarrassed at her emotional upsurge.  This seemed to ease the Saiya-jin prince, and he released the ki-ball in his hand._

_"Gods, woman, I thought you were being tortured!  That's the last time I go check on your brat without telling you!  I just hope for both our sakes that he doesn't wake up and start bawling his fool head off.  Although, if he can nap through seven of your 'scientific discoveries' which nearly destroyed our home, I suppose even your hellish screeching won't disturb him."_

_This seemed to satisfy him, and he crawled into bed next to Bulma, rolled away from her, and lay silent.  Bulma wanted to do the same, but her soul was still not quieted, even by the obvious proof that Vegeta was alive and not going anywhere anytime soon._

_"Vegeta?"_

_"What?!"  He growled._

_"Sorry, I just wanted to know where you were so late."_

_"Where else would I be, but in the training room?"_

_"Yeah, I guess you're right.  I just got a little worried is all."_

_"Ha!  Remember this, woman, it's MY job to worry about your weak carcass and your whining brat, not the other way around.  A human worrying about a Saiya-jin elite, how foolish!"  Bulma huffed a little at this._

_"So you're saying I'm NOT supposed to worry about the health and safety of my stubborn, pigheaded HUSBAND?!"  _

_"Not when your husband is a seasoned warrior and you're just a weak woman!"_

_"Fine then, I won't worry about you ever again!"_

_"Please don't.  It's unbecoming of you, as well as annoying."_

_"So you're really okay?"_

_"You're the one who was screaming for help, remember?"_

_"I know that!  I just thought…I thought maybe something happened to you.  And I was really scared that you wouldn't ever be coming home."_

_"What ever gave you that stupid idea?" Bulma paused, unsure of how to continue.  'Should I tell him?'  She thought, 'Oh well, the worst he'll do is laugh at me.'_

_"I've been having dreams, no, nightmares for the past few days.  Terrible ones, where you were dead.  You and everyone else were gone and I had to raise Trunks all by myself.  Tonight, I woke up and you weren't there.  I just thought that…maybe it had come true, and I was truly alone." From the darkness on the other side of the bed, Bulma heard a series of low 'hmphs.'  Vegeta WAS laughing at her!  "Do you think this is funny?!"_

_"You think I could be so easily killed!  HA!  I'm a Saiya-jin prince, and I don't plan on going anywhere until I choose to.  There isn't a being on this planet or any other that can kill me, so your dreams must be wrong.  You won't be getting rid of me for a long time to come."   _

_"Oh, okay then."  She was silent for a few minutes.  "Vegeta?"_

_"What?!"_

_"Could you tell me that you love me?  I…I just need to hear you say it.  Just once."_

_"Arrgg…you can infuriate even the strongest of nerves sometimes.  I won't spout your weak human words, but I will say this:  I completed the Saiya-jin bonding rite with you.  You are my first, last, and only for such an event.  If nothing else, this alone should satisfy your unwarranted curiosity.  Now go to sleep before your idiot brat decides to steal such a precious opportunity.  Even my endurance is beginning to run low."_

_"Alright then, goodnight." '…and sweet dreams, my love.'_

The very next day, the impossible happened, and after that fated battle on an island southwest of South City, the Great Vegeta, Prince of Saiya-jins, fell to the inexorable power of the Androids.  Bulma's nightmare was realized in all of its hellish entirety: her true love was dead, along with all of her life-long friends, and the Earth was plunged into a darkness from which it could not escape.

Bulma rushed back to reality with a dull cry.  Her throat was still raw from her outburst earlier, and thus could not produce as much sound as it undoubtedly would have.  It took Bulma several seconds for reality to set in until she fully awoke in the present.  Still, the past remained a major ghost in her mind.  Finally, she rubbed her puffy eyes and looked around.  She wasn't in her home, obviously, since whoever decorated the place seemed to have a taste for…well, anti-taste.  Even 'Spartan' would be too good to describe the spare dwelling.

Bulma pulled the covers back, set her feet to the floor, and began to walk out the door.  Immediately the sun struck her sensitive eyes, and she shielded them from the blinding glare.  In increments, she began to open them…and what her sight fell upon was enough to almost send her back into la-la land.

She saw a man standing in the grassy field before her.  His hair was long, black, and spiky.  He was muscular.  A tail whipped lazily in the wind behind him.  His tail.  Bulma shut her eyes one more time and then forced them open.  Looking again, she recognized the figure.

"Robbie?"  The figure turned and finally noticed her.  

"Hello, Bulma.  It's good to see that you're awake."  There was no doubt in Bulma's mind that it was the strange boy from another Earth, but…how the hell did he turn into a Saiya-jin?!  She ran to him.

"Robbie!  What happened to you?!"

"Oh, you mean this?"  He said, waving a demonstrative hand over his new form.  "I took a little trip while you were resting.  Using the time machine, I went into the past to the time before you ever met Goku.  There, I used the Dragon Radar and the machine's jump ability to gather up the Dragon Balls from the past, and made my wish."

"And you wished to be a _Saiya-jin?!_" 

"Yup."

"Why?!  Why would you do something so radical?"

"You know the answer to that.  Didn't you hear Trunks?  He said he wouldn't help me unless he could defeat the Androids.  I know for a fact that he won't be able to do it on his own for a long time, so I decided to give him a little help."

"Oh, not you too!"

"I don't mean to scare you Bulma, but when Trunks goes to fight the Androids, and there is no doubt that he will, I'm going with him.  And together we're going to win."

"I don't think so!  Neither of you are going anywhere near those two, especially not my one and only son.  So you can get those crazy little ideas right out of your head!"

"Sure thing, Bulma."  He said, walking off in the direction of the time machine.

"I mean it," she called after him, "you'd better not even try it, or you're dead meat, buster!"

"Right."  Robbie continued walking.  He sighted a few of the Nameks and decided to go thank them for the hospitality they extended during their brief stay.  After a gracious and verbose 'you're welcome', Robbie headed for the time machine with Bulma close behind.  He walked with a new respect for the Namek people, and he no longer thought of them as just comic relief for an anime series, but as real people with hopes, dreams, and determination all their own.

Bulma, meanwhile, followed after Robbie.  From behind, with the sun shining above him, and the wind striking him full on, he looked completely changed.  He stood taller, and his gait was stronger, more sure.  He walked ramrod straight, with his hands fisted, his head level, and his tail wrapped tightly around his waist.  Indeed, she would think he was a man, if not for her knowledge of his tender age.  He was fifteen, but she knew that his boyhood was now past forever.

Robbie leapt up into the cockpit effortlessly, becoming more at home with his new body as the minutes and hours passed.  Bulma climbed up the ladder and found him sitting in the captain's chair, eyes set dead ahead, ready to go.  She took her place on his lap and activated the engine.  Robbie absently noted that he did not respond to her the way he had previously, but attributed it to his newfound sense of self-control, a trait that was absent in his previous thought processes.  

"Are you ready to go, Robbie?"

"Ready when you are."

"Right, let's go!"  Bulma ignited the engines, and the craft rocketed from the surface, soaring into space.  Once in Namek orbit, Bulma slammed forward on the levers, and the craft winked from sight, bound for Earth, and inevitable but unknown destinies.

…………………..

A quick apology to all.  This chapter is obscenely overdue, and I pray that you all don't collectively try to hunt me down.  Anyway, I plan to keep the updates coming, and I will try to get his finished very soon.  Also, I have decided to add a shout-out section, so that I will be able to personally respond to all reviews.  Here's the deal: leave a good review, get a good shout-out.

Codemastar:  Your interest is greatly appreciated.  I definitely plan to continue to the end.

B leeding while b reathing:  Damn, that's a morbid name.  I like your last one better.  Thanks for the vote of confidence.  I'll take this opportunity to beg for an update on Love Me Not.  It's a really great story in spite of some myriad mechanical errors, and I really like it.

Animeduchess.  Hopefully you're not reading this shout-out, but if you actually are, than I have nothing to say to you.

Chico: Thanks.

You loser:  I really wish you were brave enough to leave an email address, or your pen name, since I would love to respond to such an underhanded blow.  I sincerely hope you read this and gain a little maturity.  Right now you have less than my thirteen-year-old brother.  And he acts like he's ten.

Nothing Extraordinary:  Thanks.

Kiyone Signatta:  Thanks for all the faithful reviews.  You'll be getting another SO in the other fics.  I must ask you: if you were going to a world full of certain danger, no matter how sweet, wouldn't you be just a little frightened?  I, for the record, would wet myself.

Christina:  How enthusiastic!  I'm happy that you hold me in such high esteem, and I will not let you down as I continue on.

Specifywhatisuck:  You, my friend, have the funniest, original, and creative name I've ever seen.  Big congrats.  In answer to your question, I didn't send him to GT because I haven't seen any of those episodes, even now.  In fact, I don't have a solid grasp on the series after the Androids, only bits and pieces from Cell and Buu.  In addition, Mirai Trunks is my favorite character of all and I have a severe crush on Android 18 *drool*.  And that is my insane moment of the day.  Thanks for your support.

RavenMirage:  Glad you like it.  I can understand why you wouldn't have found it, since I had not been updating for a while until chapter 8.  Not to mention that there are tens of thousands of DBZ fics, making it easy for my itsy bitsy one to be lost among the sheaf.

Thomas Drovin: You want more?  I'll give you a truckload and then some.  This story will be pretty long, and there will be at least two sequels, one of which will cross with another story I'm writing for another fandom.  *cracks knuckles* This is gonna take awhile…

Vegeta'z-gurl:  I feel sorry for any female belonging to that animal.  Actually, he ain't that bad…Thanks for the reviews.

Fireyone233:  Hold yer horses!  I'm going as fast as I can!  I'm literally buried in a thousand other things, and fanfiction is kinda near the bottom, but I will try to get updates out there.  Thanks for your enthusiastic support.

Chiichobi:  Now this is unexpected.  Thanks muchly for such a massive review.  It's a good sign of interest when someone writes a lot.  Thanks for an addition to the Author alert, but I think you messed up on the Favorites, since I don't see you in my stats.  Thanks a lot!


	11. In Bridgetown

**Chapter 11: …In ****Bridgetown******

****

            The young Saiya-jin watched with mounting concern as the sphere of destructive energy rocketed at him from the sky.  He had less than moments to respond before it would strike him.  Engaging his muscles, he leapt quickly out of the way, but was unable to avoid a stinging burn to his left side.  His rage suddenly and violently awakened, he vaulted up into the sky to bring the fight back to his enemy.   Pulling back his fist to strike, he took aim and readied himself to slam his opponent in the face.  The attack was about to hit home, but the target suddenly vanished before his eyes.   Turning quickly, he fired backwards just in time to avoid a crescent kick across the face.  His foe once again moved to strike, bringing his own fist up.  The fist flew at him, and though dodging would probably be the safest idea, the young Saiya-jin decided on a new tactic.  The attack came, but was sidestepped.  Quick hands seized the arm.  A knee followed, slamming into the attacker's guts and driving the wind from his lungs.  He was then spun around, over and over like the most violent of carousels, and flung headlong into the ground.

            Rising slowly from the now-decimated earth, the attacker grit his teeth and stared up at his opponent.  He had not been expecting such a move.  This one would have to be dealt with harshly.  The warrior quickly set about making his wishes into reality, vaulting into the sky again.  He flew swiftly at the young fighter, who was readying a defense that in the end would be useless.  The attacker closed the distance quickly, but jagged right at the last second.  His target turned and prepared to receive the next charge.  The attacker came on again, and then jagged left, just out of the young fighter's reach.  The Saiya-jin turned, expecting to find his opponent, but saw nothing but the vast expanse of ground.  In the next instant, blazing pain erupted, and he found the ground coming quickly to meet him.  The next moment, he struck the Earth and did not get up.  The fight was over, for now.

            Bulma watched as her son walked over to the once-again-beaten boy and peel him from the dirt.  He looked bloody, battered, and bruised, but she was no longer worried about it.  He'd pretty much looked like that non-stop for the past several weeks, but she knew he would eventually recover, and since he was a Saiya-jin, he would only grow stronger from the hellish poundings he'd been receiving. 

            It had been almost a month since they had returned from Namek.  Once home, Robbie seemed to have only one thing on his mind: preparing to fight the inevitable battle with the Androids.  Unfortunately, her idiot son also thought this was a good idea and very soon chaos erupted as the two sparred from dawn to dusk.  To her, Trunks seemed like a little kid who had just received the coolest new plaything, and was completely obsessed with beating it into the ground every chance he could get.  Being that Trunks was a super-Saiya-jin and Robbie a kid who barely knew how to fight up until a month ago, this wasn't at all difficult to accomplish.  Yet, Bulma observed, this was becoming far less easy as time went on.  Robbie was growing stronger, in body, mind, and spirit.  A month ago, Robbie would never have been able to figure out a counterattack like he had just performed.  In fact, even the simple acts of flight and dodging were seemingly beyond his reach.  Yet as time went on, he broke through all the barriers put in front of him, and now he was becoming almost a match for Trunks, in his normal form at least.  He still couldn't touch the power of a super-Saiya-jin, but given time…who knew, with that child?

            Just recently, Bulma had taken up a new pastime, gardening.  She abandoned the darkness and seclusion of her lab to come out into the open air and enjoy the sunlight.  Unfortunately, this time outdoors was far from peaceful as she was forced to witness the daily apocalypse that seemed to plague her home.  With all the racket, it was a wonder the Androids themselves didn't show up.

            Even so, she worked diligently, and soon there were flowers of many types everywhere.  At this point, she was working on a bed of tulips when her son walked over, carrying the unconscious meat sack she had come to consider as her other son draped over his shoulder.

            "Have fun today?"  She said, more than a trace of sarcasm in her voice.  Trunks responded, much to Bulma's surprise, almost cheerily. 

            "Yeah!  Robbie's getting pretty good at fighting, and he's starting to think more as well.  If I were those Androids, I'd be really scared right now!"

            "They can be scared all they want, because you're still not going…Trunks!"  As Bulma reiterated her maternal conviction that neither go into battle, Trunks was already halfway to the central dome that served as their home, whistling as he went, presumably to carry Robbie to one of the beds where he could rest.  Bulma merely sighed and went back to her gardening, though now enjoying the blessed silence.  She knew it would last about a day, then Robbie would regain consciousness and the battle would continue.

            '_And I HAD to marry a warrior prince…_'

….

            Once again, Robbie's eyelids cracked open, and he was given the painful gift of reality.  Groaning, he tried to sit up, but pain stabbed him in what felt like a gazillion places, and he fell back to the sheets, hissing in pain.  He wisely decided to lie in a completely prostrate position for at least a few more minutes.

            _'That's what you get for messing with the most powerful half-Saiya-jin on Earth…'_

This thought in mind, he played back the battle in his head, an action he'd been taking after every battle with Trunks.  It was more of an unconscious twitch, rather than any conscious effort.  It was just one of many things he seemed to be doing lately that could be attributed to his new Saiya-jin instincts.  Robbie figured that it forced a Saiya-jin to see, recognize, and correct any mistake he may have made, and grow stronger.  A good idea, since most battles among Saiya-jin were to the death, or could at least result in serious injury.  It was really doing wonders, and contributed greatly to the lengths he'd gone in today's, or rather yesterday's, battle.  By looking through his memories, he was able to learn that he needed to perform many more counterattacks, and not just dodge.  Remembering Piccolo's training of Gohan also helped somewhat.  Either way, Robbie was learning from his mistakes and learning Trunks' fighting style, and soon he knew he would have a chance to either beat Trunks in a fair fight, or at least force him to go super-Saiya-jin.  With that power, he believed he might have a chance of tipping the scales in Trunks' favor at Bridgetown. 

            Speaking of which, Robbie was beginning to wonder when that fated battle would come.  The movie was beyond vague as to the actual timeline, but Robbie figured it couldn't be more than a few months away, since Trunks was sixteen, the age he was when he fought them solo for the first time. 

            Either way, he hoped beyond hope that the fight would come soon, and that he would have the nerve to stand ready.  Even with his new power and his Saiya-jin blood, he still trembled whenever he thought about squaring off against the two strongest beings on the planet.  That was what pushed him the hardest: the fear, and the will to overcome it, to defeat the first and most dangerous enemy of any warrior: himself.  However, Robbie could admit that he was making great progress.  Every battle with Trunks now seemed to be what it truly was: a training exercise.  He remembered the fear he felt in his first battles, and now it was gone completely.  In fact, he found himself relishing his next violent encounter like a hungry dog waiting for a juicy steak.

            And at that moment, the steak walked in to his room.  And from the looks of it, Robbie was soon to be the one getting tenderized, again.  Of course, the first words out of Trunks' mouth were questions about his well-being, but Robbie knew that it came down to only one all-important question: _Are you ready for another saiya-jin-style ass-kicking?_

            "Hey, kid, you alright?"

            "Yeah, of course.  Now shut up and get your ass outside."  Trunks smiled, then gladly complied.  As they were walking down the stairs and out into the sunshine of another morning, Trunks suddenly stopped.

            "What's up?"

            "My mom's down in her lab."

            "Yeah, so?  Are we gonna spar or what?  My muscles are gonna atrophy if you take any more time."

            "Hold on , we've got all day.  I'm just going to see what she's up to.  When you live with Bulma Briefs, you've got to keep an eye on whatever she's working on.  It's a wonder she still _has_ a lab after all of her so-called 'discoveries."  He shuddered visibly, in much the same way as Robbie had at the word 'specialty', from what was quickly becoming another life. "Just sit tight, I'll be back in a few.  Why don't you go outside and do a few hundred sit ups?"

            "Yeah, whatever.  Just don't take all day, or I'll have your ass."

            "Sure thing."  Trunks sauntered down the stairs and Robbie stepped out into the daylight, where he found a flat place on the ground and began doing his daily warm-ups: some stretches, a few thousand sit-ups and a couple hundred push-ups.  _Just the thing I need before a relaxing day of hand-to-hand combat._  

 Robbie stretched and began his push-ups, but got to 146 before he was rudely interrupted by a flying purple bolt that nearly tripped over him.  Robbie leapt to his feet, only to see Trunks staring over at him from the doorway.  Robbie immediately noticed two things that caused him instant alarm: the look on Trunks' face and the sword strapped to his back. 

_Trunks never wears his sword when we're sparring.  Why does he have it now?_

With supernatural speed, Robbie answered his own question.  And the answer filled him with dread.

"They're here."  A statement, not a question.  No more words were needed.  At once, the two warriors took off running like the wind to the edge of the debris field, then leapt into the sky, and within seconds they were soaring hard and fast through the clouds.   Both knew the destination, and both were ready for what they would find there.  Even so, each had his own fears and doubts, as every warrior does before they enter the fray, and check their lives and destinies at the door of Fate. 

Trunks' first thoughts obviously went to Gohan, his friend and teacher.  This was his chance to honor his memory, avenge his death, and most importantly, prove that Gohan's death was not worthless or in vain.  He was aware of both the responsibility, and the possible consequences this brought.  Gohan had been killed by the very same monsters he was going to face, and the son of Goku had possessed far more power than he currently had.  He did have a full-blooded Saiya-jin with him, who was more powerful than he was at his first encounter, but he was still just a regular Saiya-jin with only a month of real combat training under his belt.

_Still, he is _way _stronger than I was.  I couldn't even touch Gohan, and this kid nearly forced me to go Super-Saiya-jin last time.  He's got heart, and in this fight, that could make all the difference…_

For the Saiya-jin flying to his right, similar thoughts weighed on his mind.  Robbie found himself thinking of his mother, as well as his father, who had declared his intention to stand against the android that was coming for their world.  Robbie knew that his father possessed no real power, certainly not the kind of power he himself had gained, but yet Malcolm Barnes was still going to give his all for Earth, for the human race.  This was where Robbie finally found the courage he was looking for: in the fact that he was not alone.  His father was walking into the same battle he was.  It would be fought differently, yes, but the goal as well as the consequences were the same.  They both faced the possibility of total annihilation, and the loss of everything they loved on their world.  So Robbie took heart in his father's courage, knowing that though they were a universe apart, they were still side by side, together.    

So both warriors cast their eyes to the horizon.  Toward the future.  Toward hope.  Toward possible defeat, and death.  Toward the promise of glory.

Soon, small wisps of smoke could be seen rising through the air, and the two warriors set their course for them, knowing that their enemies would be there.  Robbie followed his foes the way the ancient Israelites had followed God: column of smoke by day, column of fire by night.  Except he would catch up to these messengers of death, and when he did, they would be shown the darkest pits of Hell.

Drawing closer, Trunks could see that the city was completely in ruins.  Nothing stirred.  The streets were as lifeless as the dark side of the Moon.  He was, once again, too late.

Together, they dove to ground level, landing on what had once been the main thoroughfare through a city that was once a grand metropolis.  Now it was a graveyard, dead and cold.  Buildings lay toppled over and their bricks lay strewn across the cracked asphalt.  Girders, bent and charred, jutted from the wreckage like the clawed hands of the dying that now lay beneath them.  Water sprayed from broken pipes.  Severed wires sparked and hissed.  Crashed hover cars sat crunched and broken, embedded in the mounds of debris that had once been homes and businesses.  Now all was a tomb, a sarcophagus of shattered lives and shattered dreams that would never be whole again.

Robbie watched this all with stony-eyed sobriety, horrified that such a thing would happen, but knowing that no sin, even that of murder, was beyond the brutality of the Androids.  He could feel his hate rising, and with it came his fiery _ki_.  Next to him, Trunks was feeling the same burning, and soon, Robbie knew, he would explode in a storm of gold.  It was inevitable: no one, especially Trunks, could see such awful devastation and not be moved with righteous fury.  Even now, with the enemy not yet in sight, Trunks was itching to draw his sword, if only to reassure him that he still had the power to kill, and that he had come to fight for real.  The time for sparring and training was over.  The trumpets blared.  The drums were pounding in his mind.  The dogs of war were tugging at their bonds, ready to be unchained.  In both Trunks and Robbie, the Saiya-jin battle lust had reached its peak, and both warriors pulsed with manic energy, screaming to be released, screaming for a battle.  All that was needed was a target.

And up ahead, winding their nonchalant way through the wreckage that was their self-styled gift to the world, were the targets.  The duo had detected the approach of the warriors, and turned to face their newest playmates.  Gravel crunched as feet moved into the fighting stances, and the sound of flashing steel punctured the calm air as Trunks drew his sword.             

Time ground down to a halt.  The journey of a thousand miles was over.  The opponents of this grand contest locked in a stare-down, and waited to see who would be the first to strike.  Two sets of cold, lifeless eyes faced two pairs filled with fire.  There stood between them thirty yards of wrecked highway, but in that space sat so much more: the fate of two worlds and the lives of billions of human beings.  Now, on a deserted stretch of blacktop, that fate would finally be decided.

………………………….

Hey, again.  Short chapter, but it came quick this time.  I promise to have a nice, long, violent one up next.  Plenty of battle and blood.  Stay tuned.  Oh, more shout-outs:

Some Guy:  Genius?  Maybe, but I love turning regular boring human characters into supermen and women.  It's just what I do.  Thanks for the complement.

Z-man:  He didn't wish the Z-fighters back to life because he couldn't.  The Dragon Balls he was using were on Earth in the old Dragon Ball timeline, therefore he couldn't wish them back because they weren't dead yet.

Thomas Drovin: Ah, Mr. Drovin.  Yes, the real fun can and will begin.  If this chapter is any indicator, there will be plenty of violence and hand-to-hand combat to keep any action reader satisfied.  After all, action is what I do.  There is going to be a small songfic section coming up soon at a pivotal point in the story.  This should be coming up in the next couple of chapters.  Thanks again for your continued interest.

bLackBodian: Dude, so many questions.  Well, here goes.  First of all, I understand what you were saying about the age thing.  In the beginning, I was unsure as to what age I wanted to make him because I wanted to seem very naïve and innocent, but I didn't want to make him so young that I couldn't pair him with anyone, since every good fic has got to have a good pairing.  Unfortunately, I decided to use seventeen first, then switched it to fifteen without changing it in the beginning.  However, I fixed the problem in chapter two at least, and if there are any other places, just tell me. 

            As for Robbie coming back, that was already answered.  Remember the scene in chapter six where the black box comes flying through the portal?  Just read that again.

            Finally, as to the whole maturity issue, he's supposed to be that way, but it doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility that him and his friends would get together like that.  When the new episodes came out four years ago, I went over to my friend's house and did the exact same thing.


	12. The Battle of Bridgetown, Opening Guns

**Disclaimer**: Any names mentioned in this story, including the main character's, are meant to be fictional. Any resemblance to a real name is purely coincidental. In other words, if you know a guy named Robbie Barnes or Mike Santorini, **I'm not writing about him!**

****

**Chapter 12: The Battle of Bridgetown, Part I**

It began with twin flashes; one white, one gold. Power swelled from the two fighters until it swelled to its fullest extent. And then they pounced.

Trunks and Robbie were the first to move, with Trunks on a collision course with Eighteen and Robbie's sights set on Seventeen, as agreed upon before the battle. Trunks reached Eighteen and swung, but his blazing sword only met air as the android femme gracefully leapt backwards and smiled her deadly smile. Robbie had similar luck as his fists were easily caught by Seventeen's superior strength. The seconds froze again, as all waited for the Androids response, and then the battle began in force.

After Eighteen's dodge, Trunks followed on her heels slashing as fast as possible. The Android, with speed as her overwhelming advantage, dodged every blow sent her way, while never once countering herself. This served the desired purpose of infuriating her opponent into making crucial mistakes. Yet the young warrior kept his head and began to scale back his fury, channeling it into a more refined form. He began to throw feinting moves in an attempt to break the momentum of the female android. None landed, but after several near misses she was clearly frazzled. Finally, after a lucky blow took several strands of Eighteen's precious hair, she lost control and finally went on the offensive. In the face of real hand-to-hand combat with her, Trunks knew his sword would do little. In one quick motion he sheathed his weapon and prepared once again to duel.

Elsewhere, Robbie and Seventeen were still locked in a death struggle, with Robbie's fists clasped firmly in the Android's vice-like hands. He pushed and pulled, but nothing he did could free himself. Until Seventeen released him, he could only stare into ice-blue eyes, devoid of emotion except for perhaps sick merriment.

"Having fun yet?" The Android taunted.

"Fuck you, iron ass." Robbie growled back.

"Language, language kid. You should respect your elders."

"Ask me if I care!"

"Or not. You know, I'm going to have fun disciplining you. And apparently you need it, since it looks like your mother was asleep at the wheel."

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Enraged again, Robbie finally freed himself from the Android's grip and moved back into his fighting stance, only to sweep forward in one surreal motion and land a kick to Seventeen's midsection. The Android stumbled back, momentarily stunned, but quickly gaining composure as well as rage. His normally cold eyes lit with fury, and he charged again, intent on tearing Robbie limb from limb. Robbie threw his counter, received more attacks, and the fight continued.

Trunks and Eighteen had, in the meantime, taken their struggle to the skies, furiously trading attacks several hundred feet above the ruined metropolis. Trunks dodged another of Eighteen's vicious strikes and leapt back to put distance between him and his opponent. At twenty feet, he shook his head, stared at Eighteen, and smiled.

"Hmm, you don't seem so tough now without your big brother to back you up." Trunks said.

"You just wait until I'm warmed up. I'll let you see the strength of a woman." She spat back.

"Not this time, bitch. I'll make you pay for Gohan as I kill you piece by piece. I'll make it slow."

"You men, always blustering. And for your information I'm not a bitch. I'm just a woman who gets what she wants." Trunks received one cold smile before Eighteen disappeared. His defenses went up, but he was a second too late. Eighteen appeared two feet in front of him and executed a perfect sweeping kick to the side of his head. Stars exploded through his sight and pain swam in his mind, but only for a second before Eighteen spun and planted a foot into Trunks' sternum. The force of the kick combined with his disorientation from the headshot to render him completely helpless, and he crashed through a skyscraper before he struck the ground. The resulting crash echoed through the canyon as sweet music to Eighteen's ears.

_Hmm…Got rid of him. That was easy._

Just as she was about to turn her attention to helping her brother with the other Saiya-jin, she heard a whistling wind behind her, and swept to the side just in time to avoid a stunning blow. Looking up, she saw that Trunks was back, looking not only none the worse for wear, but angry as hell as well. His hands were twitching, and he positively itched to fight once more. Eighteen would not begrudge him his desire.

As Trunks was taking his lumps, so was Robbie. Seventeen was fully on the offensive now, and his blows rained on Robbie like a thousand sledgehammers. He threw defense after defense, but nothing could stop the furious assault, and simply keeping his feet was fast becoming a monumental task.

Finally, one hit sailed through and collided with Robbie's jaw. Three hundred feet later, Robbie had made his own personal hole in the rubble, and lay amid a pile of shattered concrete with re-bar sticking into his back. A split-second later, Robbie was up, and mad as a hornet. In his fury, his power burned hotter, and he released it in a rush.

Seventeen, unable to see where the boy had landed amidst the debris, watched with mute surprise as what seemed like the entire city, or what was left of it, went up in a brilliant inferno. So intent was he on the light show that he failed to notice the small shape that leapt from it, and was now on a collision course from above. He never saw it coming as Robbie slammed his fist into Seventeen's head, repaying the vicious blow of moments before. Moment's later, Seventeen was up, his rage burning equal to Robbie's.

"I _hate _it when people touch me without _asking!_" Seventeen dematerialized and reappeared in front of Robbie, who was unable to defend against the knee that slammed into his gut and sent him careening hundreds of feet in the air. With motions too fast for even Saiya-jin eyes, Seventeen followed hot on his trail, and once overtaking him, slammed Robbie again back to earth with an iron fist.

Robbie heard a cracking noise as he struck hard asphalt and plowed through it to the sub layers beneath. He was on his feet at once, but fierce pain brought him to his knees once more. When the pain subsided enough to open his clenched eyelids, he saw that his entire right side was covered in blood. Even worse, he discovered from careful inspection, his ribs on that side were broken. It wasn't a devastating injury though, at least not for a Saiya-jin, and he could feel his body immediately going to work to repair the damage. Even more to his delight was the fact that his Saiya-jin adrenaline was taking hold, and his pain was fading away to nothing, leaving him able to fight at full strength without having to worry about his body's condition. It was one of the most useful enhancements he had discovered yet. Robbie was smiling fiendishly as he rose back to his feet, his _ki _burning hotter than before.

Stepping from the crater, he sighted his enemy with his back turned a few hundred feet away and above him. For a moment, their positions reminded him of their first meeting over a month ago, back when he was still human, weak, and helpless. That time, he had been utterly frightened as he floundered in a lake with the sadistic Android hovering overhead and his bitch sister jeering him from the shore. The memory filled him once again with rage, and he dropped quickly into his stance once again. He was ready to attack, but opted for a new battle plan aside from direct assault. That obviously didn't work because Seventeen had a decided strength advantage, so Robbie knew that the only way to win was to use a little creative finesse.

Furrowing his brow in concentration, he brought his hands together behind him, and began to charge the air around him. In five seconds, everything within twenty feet of the Saiya-jin was shimmering with energy, and it continued to charge. In ten seconds, the energy had condensed solid, and was continuing to form itself into the desired shape. In fifteen seconds, Robbie was waiting for the right moment to fire. In twenty seconds, he could wait no more. Seventeen had turned, and surprise filled the Android. He stared below him, and immediately kicked himself for missing such a massive power buildup. He could barely see his Saiya-jin opponent beneath the swirling white disk that was being formed above him. Suddenly, the disk began to spin, whirling faster and faster until it leapt off the surface of the Earth and went soaring towards Seventeen. Seventeen, in turn, knew he couldn't block such an amazing amount of energy, but wouldn't be able to dodge all of it either, so he compromised.

The disk swung forth from his opponent, gaining ground mercilessly. The light blinded Seventeen's visual receptors and a roar overwhelmed his sensors like the rumbling of a tornado. Seventeen dashed right as far as he could before the disk struck, then threw out his hands. The disk struck hard, sending a shock through Seventeen as energy fought its way into him, then past him. He saw the opportunity, and used it to hurl himself to the side and out of the disk's path, avoiding destruction.

On the ground, Robbie saw this and was not impressed. Seventeen could dodge stage one, but he would never withstand stage two. The light ball swung higher into the sky, soaring until it was only a smaller point of brightness against the sunlit sky. Seventeen looked up, then back at Robbie, sneering.

"That was a nice attack. But I'm afraid its going to be someone else's mess to clean up. How sad." Robbie ignored his taunts and waited. He could feel stage two approaching, when the ball was just out of reach of Seventeen's senses. Meanwhile, he could only stand, hands out in front in the firing position, and wait.

"Hey kid, you alright? Pull a muscle or something? Want me to get you unstuck?"

Seventeen hovered in close, and Robbie began to sweat, but not from heat or exertion.

_I wish I would've paid more attention to how long this takes! I'm a sitting duck!_

Seventeen was within ten feet now, leering at him. "Okay, kid. Fun's over."

And that was all Robbie needed. He triggered stage two. There was no immediate change, but up in space, Robbie's attack exploded into thousands of light fragments. As one, the new storm reversed direction and took aim for the Earth, and for Robbie. Seventeen raised one glowing hand to strike Robbie down with a _ki_-blast, but was stopped dead by motion above him. He turned around.

To Seventeen, it seemed that day had become night. The sky had turned dark, and it seemed like thousands of stars had appeared from nowhere. But they were not stars. The cybernetic bells and whistles in his mind were going off like fire alarms. Seventeen kicked himself again, harder, and turned his attention away from Robbie as he readied a defense.

Robbie's attack began as one, but had split into thousand of individual _ki_-attacks, each with a mind of its own. Together, they fell on the Earth like deadly rain, turning already pulverized debris into dust. Concrete, steel girders, I-beams, hover cars, and everything that was left of the city were vaporized by energy.

Seventeen, the target of the salvo, began frantically countering every attack that came his way, both with his hands and energy attacks of his own. Seventy of the deadly orbs disappeared in the first seconds, but still more came. Another fifty were countered before the Android's defenses were overwhelmed. Over thirty of Robbie's attacks slammed into his body, sending him spiraling from the sky. He landed in yet another pile of debris. He tried to get up, but the sky continued to fall on him, pounding him even further into the dirt, tearing his clothing and even his skin. In his bionic mind, devoid of the burden of human emotion, he saw damage reports, heard warning sirens, and could no longer deny what his body was telling him: he was in trouble. Then the storm stopped.

In the midst of silence, he rose from the ashes, internal systems whirring. His mind quickly assembled the tally of the damage: core reactor power down to 50, right leg servo damaged, left arm servo damaged, central processor overheat…the list went on, scrolling through his brain like a grim marquee. In his human mind, however, he merely shook it off and rose to his feet. He looked up, and saw that his attacker was faring little better.

Robbie was on his knees, breathing heavily, unable to stand. His adrenaline rush was gone, and with it any hope he might have had of defeating his opponent. He felt weary, more weary than he ever had in his life. More weary than after his last baseball game that went into extra innings. More weary than when he stayed up until 3 a.m. working on his English term paper last spring. Robbie was, in every way, shape, and form, completely spent. His only hope now was for Trunks to defeat Eighteen and come help him. Through blurred vision, he saw his own opponent rising from the ashes, and fixing on him a glare of bottomless hate. With slow but resolved steps, he was closing the distance between them, and Robbie had no hope of a defense. Suddenly, the Android was there.

"That was a nick trick, kid. You made me break a sweat." The voice was colder than ice and carried an edge harder than diamond. "You've grown so much. It's a shame you have to die now." Robbie could only raise his eyes, giving a look of defiance.

_Do it then, you bastard. I gave my all, and I'll see you in the darkest pits of Hell._

Seventeen drew back a hand and slapped Robbie across the face brutally, lifting him from the ground and sending him soaring backwards several feet. His face stung and his vision was blurred further by hot tears.

"You're not crying enough yet!" He screamed, and clenched his hand around Robbie's throat. He hoisted him high into the air with his one good arm. Robbie could only clutch weakly at his hand.

"C'mon, I want to hear you _scream_." Robbie would have screamed, but his airway was completely shut. His Saiya-jin lungs needed less air, but if he didn't breathe in the next couple of minutes, he would end up unconscious. Robbie kept squeezing, but couldn't break the android's grip. Seventeen gripped all the harder, and soon spots were forming in Robbie's eyes. His air supply was running out, and all he could see now were the androids lifeless eyes, lit only by maniacal hate. The android was far beyond rational. Now, he seethed.

Suddenly, Robbie found himself dropped roughly to the dust. He quickly gulped air, and once he regained his train of thought, he quickly began to wonder what had distracted his tormentor. He looked up, and just as he did, he saw Trunks.

The half-Saiya-jin was locked in a furious struggle with Eighteen high above the city, perched just above a collapsed tower which was one of the few left standing. As Robbie watched, Eighteen evaded one of Trunks' fists and managed to maneuver behind him. Quickly, she linked her fists and brought them down hard on Trunks' exposed back. His body bent backwards before it dropped to the Earth and crashed through every floor of the ruined tower before reaching the ground. The tower collapsed, bringing over twenty floors' worth of concrete and steel down on him with a roar. Once the dust cleared, nothing stirred. In the sky, Eighteen stared down at her brother, and Seventeen stared back. Both nodded, then Seventeen turned to him.

"It looks like your friend's on his last legs…" At that moment, a crash shook the ground, and debris was sent flying everywhere. Robbie looked over, and there was Trunks, rising from the rubble.

He was up, but barely. His face was streaked with blood, and more drizzled down his lips. His hair looked singed in several places, but it was hard to tell while he was still transformed. What worried Robbie the most was his arm dangling at his side and how he seemed to favoring his left leg. In battle, limbs were life. If you couldn't strike (or move), you couldn't win.

Robbie tried to rise as his partner had, but even this was too much. His energy level was next to nil. Several of his bones were broken, including ribs, and his organs bruised. Even the simple act of taking a breath was agony. Robbie was essentially worthless now. This left the entire battle up to Trunks, and his situation was looking beyond grim. However, Robbie saw that their opponents were doing little better. He knew how badly he had damaged Seventeen with his own attack, and it looked like Eighteen herself was running out of energy, and her aura of youthful sexuality had been reduced to tatters. If nothing else, the odds for Trunks were certainly better this time around.

From his place on the ground, Robbie watched the fated events unfold. As one, the Android duo began to move, leaping from their positions in perfect sync. Trunks, cutting his eyes left and right, saw them and prepared himself. As the Androids prepared to strike, Trunks disappeared. The androids looked around, then up, and there he was. His sword was out again and he fell upon them like an archangel, swinging wildly. One strike landed across Seventeen's chest, making a shallow gash. In the same motion, he leveled a spinning kick and struck Eighteen on the side of the head. Both androids rocked backwards. Trunks came to ground, but it was over for him.

Both recovered quickly and were on him like twin buzz saws. Like the well-tuned machines that they were, they worked together to quickly dismantle the young warrior with precision attacks. Then, once he was beaten into pulp onto the ground, they rose up into the air. Robbie knew what was coming next. They were going to kill him the same way they had killed Gohan.

And when they killed Trunks they would kill him. And when they killed him they would kill everyone on this world. And when the other Android arrived, he would kill all of Robbie's friends and family. And all the people of Earth would be dead.

Robbie came to each conclusion numbly, in grim succession, and reality was finally able to sink in: for all his trials, for all his training, for all of his father's technology and brilliant ideas, he had failed. They all had; Robbie, Malcolm Barnes, Trunks, Bulma, even the Z-fighters before him. What was worse was that this world would have survived without Robbie's interference. Now the death of two worlds lay on his conscience. So many had put their trust in him, and he had let them down.

Overwhelmed, the young boy finally completed his inevitable descent to the dust. From his place he could see the Androids streaking higher into the sky. Any second, he knew, they would stop, turn, and set their sights on his broken friend. Then there would be a flash, a storm of scarlet light, and his last hope would be gone. All he had left to hope for was a quick and merciful death, and perhaps beyond that, to see his family and friends on the other side.

In these fleeting moments before death, Robbie's mind began its customary review of life, with the events of his past stretching across his vision.

_Green grass. Blue skies. White clouds and white picket fences. A peaceful suburban neighborhood._

_On one front lawn resembling a hundred others in the area, a young boy and an older man toss around a football. No matter what the weather, the sun was always shining when Robbie played catch with his dad. It was their bonding ritual. Before Robbie grew into a teenager and Dr. Barnes had taken a high ranking job for Innova Systems as a physicist, this was how they spent their spare time. _

_Robbie remembered how close they had been until their busy schedules had pushed them apart. Robbie had friends, baseball or football practice, and schoolwork, while Malcolm had endless projects and the laborious reports and presentations that went along with being a senior researcher. They drifted apart, but Robbie was still aware of how close they were. The Android had shown him that._

_He thought back farther. _

_Despite her outward appearances, his mother was never as simple as she let on. Whenever Malcolm went to scientific conferences, she went with him, and not just for appearances. As many books as Malcolm had read on physics, she had read just as many. While other women in the neighborhood toted around V.C. Andrews paperbacks, Catherine carried around scientific journals. Her last read was Hyperspace, a novel on the search for a unified field theory. Robbie didn't even know what a field theory was. _

_Unlike most children, it was highly unlikely that Catherine Barnes could be stumped by any of his homework questions. Math and science were always a breeze, especially when his mother was able to explain to him, in detail, Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. Most of his success in school he owed to her, her perpetual pursuit of knowledge, and her insistence that he be the same way. He never loved it the way she did, but he knew its value._

_But for some reason, Catherine had always insisted on playing dumb and being a dutiful wife, even when she could have been so much more. She washed his clothes, cooked his meals, and, more often than not, cleaned his room so he could go have fun with his friends. How many times had he ever said thank you? _

_Robbie quickly realized that he would, in all reality, never see his parents again._

_Robbie's thoughts quickly left home and shifted to school. Faces flew by. Dozens. Hundreds. Robbie wasn't exactly popular, but he was well-known, and knew many. However, there were only three people he could really call good friends. His best friend was an older kid named Mike Santorini, a name which made him the subject of endless jokes, since he was an Italian living on the West Coast. Somehow, the kids in his school though that was funny. Mike laughed it off though, and was well-liked by his friends, even though he had a mean streak and liked to fight at least once a week. It wasn't that he was violent, it was just a case of him never wanting to back down. Perhaps it was this fighting habit that drew him to watching DBZ, which was how Robbie had met him. When Robbie was in 6th grade, he had met Mike in a Study Hall and began talking about DBZ. Mike chimed in, and the rest was history. Mike was wiry, growing more muscular as time went on. His hair had been light brown when Robbie met him, but after 7th grade he got into the habit of shaving his head, mostly for sports. Where Robbie was into team sports like baseball and football, Mike chose a more solitary path through swimming, track and field, and especially wrestling, where his mean streak could be put to its best use. He never wore glasses and never needed braces, and girls went nuts. He was almost all any of them talked about. Guys tried to get him expelled just so they could get a date._

_Robbie's second friend, Dan Pratt, was exactly the opposite of Mike. Dan was heavy and slow. Girls never talked to him, except to tell him to move in the hallway. Robbie had met Dan through Mike, and Mike had met Dan in a fight. For all of Dan's supposed weakness and stupidity, he was able to hold out against Mike longer than anyone else, thus disproving the school mantra of "If you went up against Mike Santorini, you were screwed in a second." Mike was faster, but couldn't land any good hits on Dan, whereas Dan couldn't get his hands on Mike. The fight ended in a draw, and they became friends shortly after. Dan's main claims to fame were his intelligence and stubbornness. He always had the answer and he never gave up. Robbie was in his chemistry class, and they always worked together because Dan would do anything necessary to complete a project or make an experiment work. Dan also shared a class with Mike and was tutoring him pretty much every week, since Mike had about as many book smarts as you'd find in a lab rat on Valium. Dan knew very little about DBZ, since his interests mostly lay in science and not fantasy, but he quickly grew to love the series._

_Robbie's last friend wasn't a real part of the group, but was a close friend nonetheless. Her name was Sidney Mayes. Theirs was highly unlikely because Sidney was almost a nobody. She was what many popular kids called an 'untouchable'. She wasn't ugly, at least not to Robbie, but what beauty she did have was hidden under long wild tresses that she had dyed black, with not even a hint of other colors. She wore black everywhere, even on the hottest California days, never once revealing any skin like her classmates usually did. She didn't even have any piercings, just black. She was quiet, and if you were brave enough to talk to her, you were sent packing in a hurry. Nobody knew anything about her, except that she was a Chinese immigrant, and lived with foster parents. Everything else was shrouded in mysteries even blacker than her clothes._

_Robbie didn't cross paths with her voluntarily. After he and Dan put just a smidge too much acetone in a mixture and nearly blew up the lab, their teacher decided to give the two a hiatus from one another for the rest of the school year. When the major project for the year came up, and partners were being assigned, Dan got paired with Mike, and Robbie got Sidney. When the partners were called off, Robbie's friends began humming a funeral song behind him. Robbie felt like dying; Sidney was the walking dead! _

_Three days later, Robbie went over to her house for the first time to begin research on her Internet connection, which he didn't have. The house was exactly the opposite of her: bright, cheery, lovingly cared for, and inviting. Her parents were the same way when they greeted him at the door. They seemed eager to make an impression, and Robbie gathered that their daughter didn't have as active a social life as they would've wanted. Robbie walked upstairs and opened the door to her room, and felt like he was walking into a tomb. There were black curtains over the windows, black shrouds hanging from the walls, and black sheets on her bed. Robbie felt his heart drop into his shoes, and wondered in his mind how anyone could live in that much darkness. He said hi to her briefly, then took a seat next to her in front of her computer. Amazingly, she had already found over thirty web pages with the information they needed to construct their experiment. He had been amazed. With only a few words to him, she had explained how she already had a good idea of what was needed for the project, and had bought some of the things needed. All she needed from Robbie was some money to buy the rest of the stuff and help assembling it. Robbie had agreed. With his help and her dedication, the project was finished a week before it was due, even with the final lab report. Dan and Mike didn't get theirs done until 3:30 AM on the morning it was due. This had been because they knew little about the composition of the stuff they were working with, and had blown up their experiment seven times over the course of two weeks._

_With the project finished, they could have parted ways, but Robbie's heart told him not to break contact with her. He had found out during their time together that she not only liked DBZ but was an anime super fan all around. She had DVDs for everything: Inuyasha, DBZ, Bebop, Outlaw Star, Onegai Teacher, Saikano…the list went on. He also found out that she had bought it all herself, as well as the decorations (if you wanted to call them that) for her room and her computer. Her only reason was that she hated asking her parents for anything, especially money. Robbie learned many more things about her, and through a miracle had become the only person in the school, possibly all of LA, who would talk to her. _

_Sidney__'s face was the last to pass by. He had seen all of the most important people in his life, the ones who were always by his side and who he could go to at any time. These were his family, his friends, and his life._

_Robbie was buried under a wave of anguish. They would all die. All the football games, all the cooking, all the good times, and all the anime would be wiped away without a trace, and everything and everyone that made Robbie who he was would be lost._

_Anguish came again, carrying with it grief, fear, sadness, and frustration. Robbie wanted to say goodbye to them, but he would die in a few moments. He would not be with them, nor they with him. The Androids were still climbing into the heavens, and Robbie watched in pain._

_But as he watched, taking in their sardonic grins, his emotions began to crystallize. They grew solid and heavy in him like a weight, taking form to become something real. Against this new sensation he shut his eyes, but then he saw their faces in the darkness behind his eyelids, and his blood began to boil. His eyelids squeezed together and his fists clenched._

_Everything inside him began to scream, and his eyes flew open. His lips spoke one word: _

"No."

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Another chapter down, and the battle is on. What is Robbie going to do? Pay special attention to the people I mentioned, since they're going to be featured later on. Here's the shout-outs.

Thomas Drovin: Always so enthusiastic. The good news about this chapter is that you won't have to wait long for the next one because I've already written most of it. It will be up in a week, guaranteed.

Z-man: Martial artist? Cool. I took Tae Kwon Do as a course in college and not only did I like it, but I got an almost perfect grade, like a 98.6 or something. In addition, I went to a competition at the school and won first place in forms. I really enjoy it, but I'm not training right now because its too expensive. What are you into? Karate, Tae Kwon Do, kung fu? Anyway, thanks for the review.

harmony22: Thank you for the complement. I like to do original and I like throwing original characters into fanfics, rather than just rearranging events and characters that have already been written.

Fireyone233: I agree with you. That chapter was better than the last and this chapter will hopefully be better than that. This was my first-ever attempt at a really long battle scene, and I'm quite proud of myself. I hope you're pleased.

lala land: I will, and I thank you.

Lionpire: I was really surprised to get a review from you. Most of the time, I only get reviews shortly after I update, but you reviewed months after my last update. I guess we both got lucky. Thanks a lot, and I won't let you down.

Dudemeister: _How the hell do you guys find this thing!? _Thanks a bunch, but I'm just really confused as to how you stumbled upon this story and reviewed it. Thanks though, and you've inspired me to upload much earlier than I had originally planned.


	13. The Battle of Bridgetown, Conclusion

**The Battle of Bridgetown, Part II**

Things were about to go horribly wrong.

Eighteen and her brother Seventeen soared upward like avenging angels, ready to eliminate their strongest foes on the planet once and for all. Once this was accomplished, there would be nothing between them and fulfilling the mission dictated by Dr. Gero's programming: the complete annihilation of humanity. Eighteen should have been relieved, but suddenly something was off. Way off.

The first indication that anything was wrong didn't come from any of the likely sources. Her threat sensors read nil, her motion sensors didn't even read a flying bug, and the power levels of her two opponents were almost zero. All data told her that the battle was won, and she should just finish the job and go get her hair done to celebrate. That was until her weather sensors started going nuts.

The sky above Bridgetown was still sunny and blue, but the crazy sensor was telling her that a major storm front was coming through in a matter of seconds. She glanced up and sure enough, black clouds began rolling in. Her immediate thought was something along the lines of "what the f…?", but she shook it off and prepared, with Seventeen, to eliminate the annoying half-Saiya-jin. No storm was going to stop her. In fact, she thought with glee, it would make just the perfect setting.

Then the thunder crashed, shaking heaven and Earth. It overwhelmed both Androids' audio receptors and forced them to stop. The clouds were like Charybdis, churning in the sky, and then rain began to fall, in heavy, soaking sheets. Eighteen's mood darkened as she realized that her perfect looks were now beyond screwed up, between the battle that wrecked her clothes and hair and now a rainstorm that would just make her miserable.

"C'mon Seventeen," she called out over rising winds, "let's just get this over with!"

"Right!" He called back.

They began to charge their energy, and approach the power threshold for their attack, but they never made it. The attack was automatically called off as a gigantic power spike flooded every threat sensor in their beings. Eighteen snapped to attention and began analyzing the data crossing her bionic mind. This power level was big, and getting bigger, increasing at a phenomenal pace that would soon surpass her own. She looked around frantically for the source of this radical energy signature. As one, she and her brother turned, and their eyes fell on the Saiya-jin.

If they had taken the time to check their meteorological readouts, the Androids would have seen that the storm was centered directly over the fallen boy. As it was, though, their attention was completely taken up by the sight before them. The boy was still unconscious, but he was floating several feet above the ground. The rain was not striking him nor were the winds whipping over him. He appeared to be totally isolated from the world around him.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes snapped open. Brown eyes locked with theirs, and they were full of hate. The boy's fists clenched and his muscles bulged, cords standing out on his neck and arms. His chest was heaving and his teeth ground together. This was the source Eighteen was looking for.

Suddenly, his power spiked even higher, going beyond his fighting power at the beginning of the battle, and he began to glow, his aura flaring out in all directions. She had no clue what was happening, because Gero's data was incomplete, and therefore she had no way of knowing how much trouble she was in.

Robbie's aura flashed from white to gold, and his eyes went from brown to turquoise.

Away from the scene, Trunks was beginning to stir. His eyes immediately snapped open as his senses engaged. He sensed power, and a huge amount of it. And there he saw Robbie, cloaked in gold. Trunks knew immediately what was happening to his friend. The strange boy who came from another Earth, traveled to New Namek, traveled across time to Earth 40 years in the past, and wished on the Dragon Balls to become a Saiya-jin, was about to become the next level of power: the legendary Super-Saiya-jin.

Robbie's body, along with his power level, began to rise. Each passing second took away more of his self-control, and his hair, eyes, and aura were shifting wildly between gold and black, brown and aqua, and gold and white. When the last of it slipped away, all of his features made their final shift. Robbie's power level crashed through the ceiling, soaring to its maximum height, and a monolithic flash of gold exploded through the heavens in a spire, splitting the clouds in two. The boy was screaming now, hands held high.

Eighteen fought to keep her place in the sky, but it was no use. She and Seventeen half-landed on, half-crashed into the ruined city below. There, all they could do was hold their ground until the storm of the century was over. Eighteen realized that the battle situation had changed drastically, and not for the better.

The air around the boy had become a maelstrom of flying debris. Whole buildings were being ripped from the blasted earth and flung into the sky. Smaller debris flowed upward in a never-ending river. Even chunks of the ground were being lifted. Nothing was spared.

While the storm raged, Trunks had found the strength to get to his feet, his presence unknown to his Android opponents. He had no intention of continuing the fight, of course, but he did want to find some better shelter. A Super-Saiya-jin, even if he was your friend, was nothing to screw around with. Moving as fast as he could, he crawled into a twisted cave formed from chunks of concrete and rebar. Just as he did, a traffic sign came whipping past the entrance at hurricane force, scraping the entranceway and filling the tiny chamber with sparks. Trunks crouched low and covered his head, and waited for the storm to end. As he did, he spoke a silent prayer for his friend.

_Go for it kid, this is your fight now._

The storm raged on for ten more dizzying seconds, and then abruptly stopped. The inky clouds leaked away, the winds died, and rain ceased to fall. Silence once again descended on the city of the dead.

Eighteen had managed to keep her feet the entire time, but was forced to shut her eyes. Now, she opened them. The boy, the Saiya-jin, was there, standing over 100 feet away. He was no longer screaming, and his hands were now fisted at his side, but he was far from back to normal. His hair was now spiked straight up, and was burning like a golden torch. Power flared around him of an identical color, setting his body on fire, and his eyes shined with an eerie aqua light. He was not only transformed, he was transfigured.

The boy still held her gaze, but his own eyes lacked his earlier hate stare. He seemed calm, and it appeared that his raging emotions were finally in check. In contrast, though, Eighteen's heart rate was far above its normal level. In awe of his complete transformation, she could only stare in wonder, and he only stared back.

In the next instant, the tableau was broken. The Saiya-jin's image shimmered strangely, and then he was gone. No dematerialization. Eighteen looked to her right, where Seventeen was standing, and he was clearly perplexed. She didn't see any sign of him, until she turned around.

The boy was there, staring at her again. He was on the other side of her, but he had closed the distance to fifty feet. Now she was beginning to get annoyed. Was this asshole going to just ogle her to death?

"Seventeen." She said.

"Yeah?"

"Is this kid starting to piss you off?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Want to do something about it?"

"With pleasure."

Without another word, Seventeen leapt from his position and charged the Saiya-jin. The fifty feet were gone in seconds, and Seventeen raised his fist to connect, but it never hit. The Saiya-jin simply vanished without warning.

Eighteen looked up and around, trying to home in on his position, but it was all in vain. Seventeen was doing the same, but somewhat more frantically, turning around like a wild animal. He turned towards her briefly, puzzlement written all over his features. Then the Saiya-jin reappeared behind him. Eighteen barely had time to warn him before a strong hand wrapped around the back of his neck. Shock replaced puzzlement, and Seventeen was instantly yanked from the Earth and pulled up into the air.

The Saiya-jin had a firm grip on Seventeen's neck, but the Android fought in vain to get free. They were now hundreds of feet into the sky, with no sign of slowing down, until the Saiya-jin doubled back and began to spin. Eighteen watched helplessly as her brother was being swung around like a rag doll in a spin cycle, unable to escape. Then the Saiya-jin let go, and Seventeen went soaring toward the ground.

The flight lasted less than a second. The android's body plowed into the ground, sending a plume of dust and debris into the sky. His helpless form skidded several hundred feet, and then came to a stop near the place where Trunks was hiding. The android didn't so much as twitch.

Eighteen's heart stopped. Emotions such as shock and grief didn't last very long in her android body because her electronic sensors quickly equalized all of her biological functions, but even they could not dispel the disquiet in her mind. No one had ever gotten the upper hand on her brother like the Saiya-jin just had, and no one had ever brought him so close to destruction with the amount of damage he had taken. She was beyond worried.

In full view of her opponent, Eighteen flew to her brother's side. What she found was a mass of blood, flesh, and cloth with black hair. She shook him and called his name, but there was no response. She sensed some energy left in him, but he was effectively out of the fight and, by extension, out of reality. If both of them were to survive this fight, she would have to fight the Saiya-jin by herself. For the first time in her life, she would be his protector, not vice versa.

_Tears…a child's sadness…angelic innocence marred by scars and fresh blood… Don't worry sis, I'll make sure he never hurts you again._

Now it was her turn. Eighteen dropped her shredded denim vest and tore the sleeves from her shirt, reveling slim, muscular arms; beautiful and strong at the same time. She stared upward, stabbing a glance at her enemy who still watched her with an equal hate stare. With teeth gritted and fists clenched, she leapt from her brother's side and tore into the sky like human lightning, flying faster than ever before.

Just before she struck her enemy, he disappeared again, just as Eighteen expected, and she was ready. She spun around and sent her senses out in every direction, but something was wrong. The boy had not dematerialized; that much she could figure out, but that left only one possibility: the boy was moving with only physical speed. This took away her only advantage. But Eighteen was still not ready to give up. She found his position and quickly unleashed a barrage of energy. The boy moved to the side, and she fired more. Every direction he went, she followed, and finally a huge salvo struck home, and he disappeared behind a hail of fire.

Eighteen's senses could not reach into the inferno, and so she was unable to discover her opponent's fate until after the smoke cleared. Several tense seconds passed until gray smoke gave way to blue sky. Eighteen experienced one half-moment of jubilation, but it was quickly cut short by a fleck of black fur waving in the sky. The Saiya-jin still lived. His eyes continued to stare at her like nothing had happened.

Eighteen growled to herself in frustration and raised her arms for another strike, but she was cut off by a crushing pain at her throat. Crushing, because her windpipe was now constricted by the Saiya-jin's hand. She panicked, realizing that the he had just closed a large distance without her being able to see it.

Hard, thin lips parted to reveal gleaming fangs brought together in a predatory grin. Eighteen's own face was a mask of utter shock. The hand gripped tighter, and she began to lose oxygen. In response, her mind ran through a sequence of counter moves to break the hold, and Eighteen tore at the hand around her throat with all her might using one of the suggested techniques, but nothing worked. She was too weak, and he was too strong.

The savage fangs spread apart wider, and she could almost hear him chuckle at her torment. Her hands dropped to her sides as her body went slack, and her eyes fell. She was completely helpless, unable to stop her enemy from killing her. Just before she lost consciousness, he released her, only to drive his fist across her face and send her sprawling into the dirt. She could breathe now, but her head was a knot of pain. She began to crawl away on her hands and knees, but the lifted her up by the back of her neck and slammed her face-first into the ground. She tried once more to rise, but a solid heel to the middle of her back forced her down once more.

Her body, bionic and biological, screamed in pain. She was beaten and broken, unable to move, let alone fight. The Saiya-jin's foot pressed down harder, and she could feel her metallic skeleton begin to bend. More pain flooded her mind.

…_stop it, daddy…_

She began to hope frantically that Seventeen would come to her rescue, but remembered that he was in worse shape than she was. Even her vainest hopes were crushed. All she had left was her inevitable end. Then a thought crossed her mind.

**I deserve this.**

Eighteen thought back to the past few years of her life, everything that she and Seventeen had done, and why. She didn't stray too far into the darkness, to the days before Gero, but stayed in the immediate past. She thought of burning cities, screaming people, chaos, fire, and of course, the oceans of blood…She became sick. These were **her** sins. Those people didn't die from hurricanes or tornados or rampaging armies; they died from her. Her unholy power and strength, her malevolent will; that's what eradicated hundreds of thousands of souls from the Earth.

She killed them all, her and her brother that she loved so much. They had once been good people, and now they were monsters. She was looking at herself in her mind's mirror, and she hated what she saw. She never wanted to be like this; she only wanted to be free…Now she was damned, and she knew she deserved the worst punishment Hell could give her.

She was flipped over onto her back forcefully, and the sun burned her eyes until the Saiya-jin blotted it out with a sea of black hair. His face was shrouded in darkness, but she knew he was smiling, savoring the taste of an imminent kill and final victory. She saw that his right hand was glowing with golden power, and his aura was flaring hotter than ever before. She could barely stand to be in his presence. She knew it was over.

Years of pain and loss had brought her to this point in a godforsaken metropolis she had destroyed. They welled up, filling her like black sewage, closing off every channel of her body. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't feel. She had gone numb from sheer anguish. Her life had been nothing but pain since the day she came into the world, and now it would end finally.

The Saiya-jin raised his hand, a golden sphere of power resting in his upturned palm, and she cast her eyes upward. The sight of it burned her eyes, but she couldn't turn away. Eye to eye with her inevitable end, she became overwhelmed again, and a single tear slipped down her face. Android Eighteen closed her eyes.

She sat in the darkness, waiting for death to take her. She was suddenly a little girl again, waiting for the terrors that the night would surely bring. But she also realized that this time would be different. There would be no torment, only release, and this time she deserved her cruelest of fates. Before Gero, she was innocent and blameless, but now she was guilty to the fullest.

The seconds ticked by, but after ten had slipped into oblivion, she began to grow impatient. She knew it didn't take that long to power up an attack, and if she was him she'd have been dead 5 seconds ago. She continued to wait.

Outside of her shut eyes, another sat waiting. He stood, surveying his enemy with feral glee, noting the volume of blood and dirt covering her clothes and face. All seemed right in his animalistic mind, overtaken with fury. Her pain and her torment was music to his ears. That was, until one tear left her eyes and cleared a pathway through the accumulated muck on her cheek. That, somehow, _didn't_ seem right.

Robbie's mind suddenly cleared. Coming back to his senses, he realized that the impossible had happened: he was a Super-Saiya-jin. He would have been shocked, but he had already been one for several minutes, and was well-adjusted. As it was Robbie's attention was focused completely on the android at his feet. She was beaten, that much he could tell. In the darker recesses of his mind came the command: kill her.

That was his Saiya-jin voice speaking, the one that had coached him along to his current level of power, the one that urged him to become stronger, and the one that screamed in fury when he was transformed. That voice had been a part of him ever since he had woken up on that mountain plain with a new life. Every day since, he had listened to that voice in all things, trusting it and believing that it would lead him to the power he sought. It had, and he was victorious, so what now?

His enemy lay before him, helpless. The voice again gave him only one command, and desire burned in him to obey. But there was another part to Robbie's mind, one that had held on to his old human thoughts and desires, and through it Robbie remembered that he had never killed anyone. Ever. He remembered that he never even wanted to hurt anyone, only these Androids, and only because they were an obstacle to saving those he loved. Yet somehow he had lost sight of his true goal and had wandered too deeply into his Saiya-jin side, delving in primeval lusts and hungers, becoming more beast than human. Robbie, too, was looking into himself, and was as equally disgusted as his opponent was. Looking away from Eighteen, he stared at the city around him.

Everything was gone, and even the ruins had been blasted into dust. There wasn't even enough left for the crows to feed on. It was a wasteland, a desert. The Androids had been the ones to attack first, but he and his comrade couldn't escape blame either. They had all come to this field of battle possessed by their own purposes, and nothing had resulted except more death and more loss. Robbie looked around, and became weary.

Across the field, he saw some rubble shifting, and then watched as Trunks freed himself from his hiding place. He was about to call out, but he saw that Trunks was intent on something else. So intent that he was clutching his sword in a white knuckle grip. Robbie looked harder, and saw what he was after: Seventeen.

The android was as beaten as his sister and unconscious besides. Trunks apparently was about to take advantage of the situation and finish his opponent once and for all. His face, like his opponent's, was streaked with blood and his normally lavender hair was nearly black with accumulated dust. In Trunks' eyes, he saw the same glow that was surely being reflected by his own eyes. That glow was pure hate. Trunks wanted one thing, and that was to kill Seventeen.

It suddenly felt wrong again; all wrong. He considered, though, his own intentions. Hadn't he wanted to kill Eighteen and have it done? Wasn't he still planning to? He looked down at the golden fireball blazing in his hand, then at the broken girl at his feet, then to her brother, equally broken, and finally to his comrade-in-arms, consumed by hate. The fireball glowed at his side, but the girl didn't move. The sword-wielder marched on, his victim unaware.

Oddly, Robbie found himself thinking of a fanfic he had once read called 'Falling Angels.' It was a simple fic, only a couple of pages, but significant because it provided insight into Seventeen's and Eighteen's lives before they were Androids, when they were human. Robbie realized he had never considered their origins. They were simply villains, worthy of hate. Of course, Eighteen eventually married Krillin and had a child with him, but that was another Eighteen in the past. This particular woman only had one destiny ahead of her: death, when Trunks returned from the past. This woman would never see the error of her ways, never know regret or guilt. She would die never knowing true life. Seventeen would do the same. Robbie believed this to be the greatest wrong of all.

Across the field, time had run out for the black-haired Android. Trunks brought his sword back, tip pointing directly at his heart, and rammed it home. Robbie released his blazing energy in a rush, raising a dust cloud into the air like a plume of volcanic ash. There was a crash of thunder, a raking metallic squeal, and then silence.

The dust took an eternity to settle. Even after it had, nobody moved. A choice had been made, and it changed everything. Trunks gaped in shock. Robbie's eyes stared ahead at him, his emotions mute. Trunks' sword was buried to the hilt in the earth, turned black by Robbie's energy blast.

Time slowed for a second, but did not stop this time. Trunks turned at Robbie and screamed.

"_What the hell did you do that for!?_" looked toward him, but he said nothing. Trunks only continued to glare, his face twisted in anger and fists clenched. "_I was about to kill him! I was going to _end_ this!_ **_What the fuck is wrong with you!?"_**

In a second, Trunks' hate stare was turned from Seventeen, and to Robbie. His fists clenched, his teeth gritted, and he began to run. Things were about to become unpleasant.

Trunks swung at Robbie, but he dodged effortlessly and took hold of Trunks' wrist. In two more motions, the young half-Saiya-jin was subdued on the ground.

"_Why…?" _He mumbled into the dust. Robbie was silent for a moment, unable to respond. Then he looked up.

He was able to see Eighteen laying sprawled out a few feet away from him, as motionless as when he left her. He looked also at her brother, equally motionless farther across the field. And now his comrade was lying in the dust as well. Every being on the field had fallen, and it was all his doing. His sense of wrongness only swelled greater.

"Trunks…I'm sorry."

"You'd better be sorry…_traitor!_"

"Stop! Don't you get what's happening here?"

"Yeah, you can't finish this. You're weaker than I thought."

"Please, get over yourself. That's not it."

"Then what the _fuck _is?! We've won; they're beaten! Why can't we just finish this and get it over with? Do you want _more _people to die? Do you want _us _to die?"

"No…I don't want anyone to die. I want it all to be over. Right now."

"Then _kill _these bastards!"

"No.

"What?"

"I said no. There's been too many deaths today. There's been too many deaths altogether, because of them and us. I don't want one more human life to be lost, and I'll make as many sacrifices as I can to ensure that it isn't. These two are no exception."

"These two aren't even human!"

"Yes they are. Don't you think there's a brain in their heads? Don't you think there's a heart beneath all the metal? Of course there is. They're as human as you and I are, but they've been brainwashed, turned into something they're not and forced to do something they never wanted to do. They probably deserve to die for it anyway, but I'm willing to give them a second chance. All I'm asking is for you to calm down and give me a few minutes. If things don't go the way I want, this'll be over quick, and you can get your revenge, but if they do, I want your promise that you won't harm either of them. Now what do you say?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're thinking, but I'll give you a minute. You'd better not let me down."

"I won't, pal. Watch the girl. If she wakes up, make sure she knows I have very thin patience."

"With pleasure." With that, Robbie pulled Trunks to his feet. Turning his back, he set his sights on the black-haired android across the field and leapt to his side. The android stirred, but no other sign was given. Robbie crouched down next to him and shook him lightly. The android rolled onto his back, but didn't otherwise respond.

"Hey, you awake?" Nothing. Robbie tried to sense his power level, but quickly remembered that he couldn't, since they were mostly mechanical. All he could do was sit here and hope the Android woke up sometime this millennium, if at all. Robbie also realized that if Seventeen was dead, then Eighteen would be less than pleasant to handle. To Robbie's relief, the android groaned again and shifted to his side. His eyes remained closed, though, so Robbie decided to start with the other sibling.

With one leap, Robbie was at Eighteen's side again.

Eighteen felt the ground shift under her, and became afraid.

…_she heard the door creak open…heavy footfalls…no warning…fists like steel blocks…pain…no peace…leave me alone daddy…brother, where are you…_

She tensed, ready for more punishment, but none came. Instead, a rough voice spoke, only a foot or two from her ear.

"Hey, wake up." It was the Saiya-jin. Her blood froze, and she knew she would soon have to give up the possum charade. She hoped for just a few more minutes of peace in the darkness, quiet…

A hot, rough vice gripped her neck, and her eyes shot open in shock. There he was, staring at her with the same hate-filled turquoise eyes she saw when she had closed her own. As she was staring, though, eyes wide with panic, she noticed a change. His eyes, fully locked with hers, began to soften and as they did, so did the hand at her throat. In a moment, she could breathe again, and the Saiya-jin had moved back a little ways from her. His face no longer full of hate, he looked almost sorry.

Eighteen sat up, pain jabbing her in every conceivable place, and tried to put on her bravest most defiant face. She still didn't feel confident, though, as she stared down her opponent-turned-assailant.

Robbie staggered backwards from the female android, trembling. His Saiya-jin instincts were harder to control than he thought. Why was he so violent? Why was he so full of hate? These were questions that gnawed at him.

Eventually, he regained control and approached Eighteen, whose face was set in a look of defiance. She didn't waver so much as an inch as he approached, and he felt a small kernel of respect appear in him. Despite her tattered clothes and broken body, she still managed somehow to project her usual aura of supremacy, and she would even continue to fight if the opportunity arose. In Robbie's mind, though, he hoped that wouldn't happen.

"Can you stand?" He asked, looking down at her.

"What do you think?" She shot back.

"Fine then." He said, and settled to the ground a couple of feet in front of her, legs crossed. He motioned to Trunks, and he followed suit. "As is probably obvious to you by now, we don't plan on killing you," he said conversationally, "yet. However, that could change if I don't get the answers I want, or if you decide to play cute. Cross me and there won't be enough left of you to make a toaster. Capice?"

Eighteen said nothing, only continuing to glare.

"Okay, I see this won't be easy, but I'm a patient man and I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You see, I have a problem, and I'm looking for friends to help me take care of the matter. Unfortunately, I need strong friends and the only strong people left on this world are the four of us."

"Is Seventeen alive?" She asked, completely devoid of emotion.

"He's banged up, but he's still breathing. He should wake up soon, and when he does I'll give him the same proposition I'm giving you. So that brings me to my ultimate question. Do you and your brother want to live?"

"We won't be anybody's slaves. Go fuck yourself."

"You little…" Robbie's aura began to rise and rage began to flow. He drew his hand up, a charged ki-ball floating in his palm, and prepared to strike her down. Eighteen's mask cracked, and he could see the bitter fear beneath. This made him stop. Regaining control, Robbie pushed his instincts down into the pit of his stomach. He was really beginning to hate this…

"Now listen here, I want this to be a civil conversation. I just nearly lost my cool there and I really don't want to do that again. Keep the expletives to yourself, and we'll move on. What I'm offering you is a second chance; a new lease on life, if you will. You've proven your power and now I want to put that power to some good use. My problem is that there's another android out there, and he happens to be heading for my home. His purpose is the same as yours: the complete destruction of humanity. Obviously, I don't want that to happen, so I'm asking for your help."

"What? You need _our _help?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"You just beat us. You've proven you're the strongest, so why keep us around? Why can't you just destroy him yourself?"

"Maybe I can, maybe I can't. The point is that I don't want to go back unprepared. If I can win on my own, fine, but if not, I'll have three more fighters to back me up. So again, will you agree?"

"I'm not saying anything until I know Seventeen is alive."

"Fair enough."

"Speak of the devil…" Trunks said suddenly. Robbie looked up and saw Trunks staring across the field. Following his gaze, he saw Seventeen begin to rise from the rubble. He looked up, staggered, and fell back to the ground, then began to crawl on hands and knees toward them.

Robbie was up in a flash and went to the android's side. Seventeen was beaten and bloody, and could barely move at all, let alone swiftly. Seeing an opportunity to demonstrate some form of good will, he stretched his hand out to his beaten opponent. Once he accepted, Robbie picked him up and rushed him to his sister's side.

Then a curious thing happened, something that forever changed in his mind, as he suspected in Trunks' mind as well, his view of them as villains. Once together, the twins embraced. Not in a cold, emotionless manner as would have been expected of killers, but with as much warmth and affection as Robbie had ever shown his parents. Robbie knew then that the bond they shared went beyond that of mere partnership or camaraderie. It was love, pure and simple.

Though he didn't believe that the author of Fallen Angels had it right, he did believe there was a kernel of truth. He believed that they had been through tough times, and that in all the years of their life the only place they ever found comfort was in each other. They were best friends, they were family, and they were one. Without one, the other had no reason to live, and this made Robbie's plan all the harder to set in motion.

Seeing that the twins were still otherwise occupied, he motioned to Trunks and pulled him aside. He began to tell him of his plan, speaking at a whisper so only he could hear.

"Listen, we've still got about 9 months before I can go back home, so we've got to get ourselves ready."

"Aren't we ready now? We just won the battle."

"I know that, but now we've got two more team members."

"You really think they'll join us?"

"I'm almost positive. These guys have nothing to lose. I'm a little suspicious, but I'll take my chances to save Earth."

"Okay, now what do we do with them?"

"Um…you're probably not going to like this idea."

"I haven't liked any idea you've had so far."

"Fair enough. I think we need to consider splitting them up."

"What?! Are you freaking crazy? I don't think _anyone_ stands a chance of pulling those two apart _now_! Besides, splitting them up means splitting _us _up. If we do that, we're both toast."

"I don't think so. You've seen that I can handle them both on my own. For your part, I know you'll gain a major power boost once you recover from your injuries, therefore I don't think we'll be in too much danger. Besides, if one gets in trouble he'll just send out a mental call to the other. Piece of cake."

"Okay, that explains how, but why?

"These two were designed to be halves of a whole. Strong apart, unbeatable together. They're a team, just like we are, but they don't know how to fight with us, and neither of our teams trusts the other. There's a gap here that needs to be bridged and I think it can be done if all of us take a little risk."

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, I know. Get used to it."

"Whatever, I can't believe you want me to fight alongside my worst enemies."

"I know. Listen, buddy, I can't say I know what your going through, but I want to tell you a little story. A little while back, before you were born, Earth was attacked by two powerful enemies. These enemies came to Earth for the same purpose as the Androids: to extinguish all life on the planet. Earth's only defense were its Special Forces, comprised of the strongest fighters on the planet. One of the invaders alone was able to completely annihilate Earth's fighters, and all seemed lost until Earth's greatest hero arrived to fight the enemy. He defeated one and challenged the leader himself, but fell against his awesome strength. In the end, though, the hero's friends joined the fight and finally brought the invader to his knees. The invader was helpless as one of the hero's friends stood ready to strike the deathblow. But he was stopped."

"By who?"

"The hero himself. The hero had lost all his friends to this enemy, but he still pleaded for his life. He wanted to show that he and his friends were better, in that they understood mercy, and didn't need to take life to prove their superiority."

"That's a good story, but what does it have to do with me?"

"The hero was Goku himself."

"And who was the invader?"

"Your father."

Trunks was silent and hung his head. "Okay, I'll let them live." Was all he said.

"Good. I'll go tell our new teammates."

And with that Robbie walked back to the twins, still holding on to each other for dear life. His heart was heavy and he anticipated challenges, but nothing could compare to the hope he felt in his heart. For the first time since this whole nightmare began, light was beginning to break forth through the dark. Things were looking up, and it seemed like victory could be within his grasp.

He took heart at his new strength, and at his new personality. Already he could feel himself growing up faster than ever before. He could think, he could solve problems, and he could plan better than he ever could as a human, and though he would never hear it from their lips, he was becoming someone his parents would be proud of. The suburban boy was now a warrior, and a man.

* * *

And the long-awaited battle is over! Hope you weren't looking for a bloody ending…Anyway, here's the shout-outs.

Fireyone233: Okay, you were right about the ssj thing. Of course it was bound to happen. I'm sorry if I bored you with the flashback, but it was necessary, both for insight into Robbie's almost nonexistent past and to trigger his transformation.

Thomas Drovin: Sorry I lied! I said a week and it's, well…not. I'm sorry, but things just piled up on me again and I lost track. It's almost to the point where I'm going to stop promising updates because I never get it right anyway. Besides that, I hope you like it.

Chaosbardock: The simple explanation for the lack of martial arts skill is because the character can't know more than the author. I'm only a yellow-belt green-tip in Tae Kwon Do, thus I can't write about moves I don't know. However, I did take your advice on the choke and added it in to a couple of places. Thanks for the advice.

Hopeful Wings: Don't worry, this story is as alive as I am, and unfortunately about as active. But I do intend to continue and I will get this thing finished.

Zion17: Thanks for the accolades. I know a lot of general knowledge so I just try to apply it wherever I can. I'm also a college student and I took Electronics for a year, so I know a little about that, too.


	14. Aftermath: New Alliance

**Chapter 14: Aftermath: New Alliance**

The longest day of Robbie's life was finally drawing to a close, and the rigors of leadership were beginning to take their toll. All he wanted at the moment was a soft place for him, along with his new protégé, to lay their heads, and it soon appeared over the dark horizon.

Robbie and Eighteen flew low over the silent waters of the ocean, only a few meters above the placidly lolling waves. Out of habit, he stole a quick glance behind to see if she was still there. Of course she was, holding station a short distance behind. She met his glance, then quickly dropped her eyes to the obsidian waves beneath her. Robbie's slightly paranoid curiosity was satisfied, so he returned his gaze to the front and continued on, musing over the day's events.

It had only been a few hours since the foursome had lifted off from the blasted ruins of Bridgetown, but it seemed like months, judging from the aching in his bones and the throbbing of his head. The choices he had made and the commands he had given were nowhere as easy as they had sounded in his own mind. Nor did they seem as sane. With each passing mile, Robbie grew more and more uncertain of his choices.

The first problem came precisely at the point of his highest euphoria, and it was also the one he should have seen coming.

_Who the fuck do you think you are! _That had been Seventeen's reaction to the order to split them apart. Eighteen had chimed in with her own _I'll rip your balls off you fucking monkey! _Naturally, Robbie's first reaction was to smash them both into space dust, but he somehow restrained that unproductive instinct and managed to muster up the last quality that Saiya-jins were known for: diplomacy. Well, as diplomatic as a weary, pissed-off Saiya-jin could be.

"_Listen up you tin-plated assholes!" _he roared, _"I have been_ more _than patient and _beyond _merciful. If you insist on trying my patience any further, we'll just finish this little fight where it should have been finished. Either of you want to go another round?"_

Seventeen stepped forward, murder in his eyes, and Robbie nearly snapped. His new Super-Saiya-jin power, previously dispelled, began to flow back to the surface once more. But before he could reach the full transformation, a voice called out. It was Eighteen.

"Stop," was all she said. Seventeen halted and even Robbie stopped to listen. She was standing at Seventeen's side, eyes downcast. Her usual cocky stance was replaced with something else: the posture of total dejection. Robbie immediately knew that something important was about to happen.

Her words were nearly spoken in silence, but apparently Seventeen heard them because his head snapped immediately in her direction.

"What?" He replied incredulously.

"I said I'll go." Her voice was flat and without inflection. They were the most joyless, lifeless words he had ever heard.

"How can you do this?!" Seventeen shot back. "I won't let you go…"

"I know," Eighteen replied, "but I have to. Do you want to die here?"

"What the hell are you talking about? How many times have we survived? How many times have we escaped the people trying to kill us? We can win. We've always won!"

"We won't win this time. We can't, because we don't deserve to. Dammit Seventeen! I'm tired of fighting, and I'm tired of watching people die! I'm through with this shit. Do whatever you want; I'm leaving."

"And what about me? You'll just leave me behind? After all I've protected you from? What'll keep these bastards from killing us once they get us apart?"

"If they wanted to kill us, they could do it at any time, and Saiya-jins aren't the type for that kind of deception. We're alive because they want us alive. That's all."

"Shit…" Seventeen said, clearly exasperated. He hung his head, unable to digest what his sister was saying. She was willing to walk into the night with this monster, willing to go off alone, where no one could protect her. This had happened too many times before…

He couldn't go through with it, but his sister's heart was set, and he would have to trust her. Still, it did little for the iron swords piercing his heart. He had no options, but his ego would not let him simply leave her, so he gathered his courage and strode confidently up to the Saiya-jin, pushing his way through the residual energy surrounding him, coming to within inches of his face. His eyes were cold and hard like obsidian and his voice dangerous as he spoke.

"Before I let her go, I want your word."

"My word on what?" The Saiya-jin responded.

"That you won't touch her." Robbie was immediately taken aback, and more than a little unclear on what he was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The purpose of this trip will be training together, and I will be sparring with her. If you want me to say that she'll come back alive, then the answer is yes."

"That's not enough!" Seventeen's hand lashed out and grabbed hold of what remained of Robbie's tattered shirt.

"What?"

"I know how you Saiya-jins are. You're animals! You…You'd better not hurt her." Robbie still had only a vague idea of what the Android was talking about, since Robbie had every intention of kicking the crap out of her if they trained together. Still, he saw that the young man was in earnest. In spite of his ignorance of the situation, Robbie decided to agree. He would have plenty of time later to figure out what the hell he was babbling about.

"Okay, you have my word." The hand at his collar relaxed, albeit unsteadily and reluctantly. Seventeen stared at him for a few seconds more, then broke contact and fell to the ground. He turned around and walked back to where his sister was standing, and embraced her again. Robbie, for his part, felt even worse than he had felt before. But he was also left wondering just what had happened in their pasts to make them like this.

He would have to get his answers from Eighteen, because the day was fading fast, and he wanted to be underway before dark. However, there were a couple of points he wanted to see to first.

"Hey you two," he called to the two Androids, "How are you feeling?" He considered his question in light of what had just transpired and quickly added: "Physically?" It was Eighteen who lifted her eyes from her brother's shoulder and answered: "fine."

"Are you both up for traveling?" He continued.

"Yeah." Eighteen answered, but her words again sounded hollow. Robbie's Saiya-jin mind screamed at him to forget her well-being and get a move-on, but his human heart screamed back just as loudly to take it easy. His thoughts were in outright turmoil and he couldn't tell which one was really his own voice, but he kept his poise nonetheless. Robbie decided it was time to get going, but he had no idea _where_ he was going. He had no doubt there were plenty of wide open spaces to train in on this planet, but he had no clue what would be done for shelter, and he knew Eighteen would freak if there wasn't any indoor plumbing. He motioned Trunks over.

"What now?" The half-Saiya-jin said, exasperated.

"Just wondering where we're gonna go. Any ideas?" Trunks' eyes darkened.

"I was thinking I'd take Seventeen to the place where he killed my father. I want him to see first-hand what the bastard's done. And I thought you could take Eighteen to West City."

"Great! Let's _really _make them feel like shit!"

"Why the fuck not!?"

"_Because we're trying to build a team_, _moron_!" Robbie realized that they had been shouting, so he quickly toned his voice back to deflect the curious glances of the twins. "We can't do that, Trunks. We want their help, and we can't get that help if we go out of our way to piss them off and/or rip their hearts out…"

"…they don't have hearts…"

"Yes they do. And we're going to get them to use them again. We've stopped this madness and saved your world. Don't you see? Your fight's over, but mine's just beginning, and I'm going to need all the help I can get because the android coming to my world is probably way stronger than these two combined. Not to mention the fact that these two could still recover and overpower you if you're alone, allowing this shit to start all over again. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Whatever. I won't kill the guy, but don't expect me to play nice."

"I never said that, but at least try and be civil. It'll only be for about six months, then we'll get back together, link hands, and…"

"Jump to your world. Right?"

"Right."

"Okay, I get your point, but where the hell do we go?" This was a tough question, so Robbie thought hard. Again, his thoughts drifted back to the fanfiction world, where he might have been able to glean an answer from the thousands of crackpot theories his generation had come up with. The answer hit him almost immediately. In most stories he had read, Seventeen always wanted to go to the same type of place.

"Trunks, maybe you and Seventeen should go camping."

"Camping? What the fuck are you on?!"

"Hear me out. The androids hate humans, right? Seventeen does especially, so the best place would be something far away from human civilization a.k.a the woods. Take Seventeen to the mountains, and that way you'll be away from humans and Seventeen can get a little peace and quiet."

"I suppose you want me to take the bastard bird-watching?"

"Wouldn't hurt."

"You piece of s…"

"Nevermind. Listen, just trust me. This'll work out. Try the mountains north of North City, and be sure to stay away from Gero's lab. Or rather, what's left of it."

"Right. That sounds good, but where are you going?"

"I have an idea."

And that was how it went. After a tearful goodbye and many hushed words spoken between the two siblings, they had set off in different directions: one north, one south. An hour later, here he was, flying over the ocean of an alien world with an android femme fatale flying close behind. His obvious question was: _how the hell did I get myself into this? _But after a moment, not even that seemed to matter. He was bone tired, and just wanted a nice bed to stretch out on. Moreover, he believed his new companion wanted the same.

Just then, a beacon of comfort rose up from the sea to greet their eyes: the island of Master Roshi and the dark outline of Kame House. Robbie had never been so glad to see land in all his life. He looked behind again to see if Eighteen was watching him, then waved to get her attention. When she looked up he motioned toward her and then the island, indicating they were about to land. She nodded slightly, and they both began their descent. A minute later their feet touched the soft white sands of the beach, and the trip was over.

Twilight had just about reached its peak, and night would be coming in less than an hour. The sky above was black as midnight in the east while streaks of brilliant scarlet lit up the west. Robbie's nose was quickly overcome by the scents of salt and the sea, and the only sounds around him were that of the wind and the waves. The tiny island was at rest.

Roshi and his animal friends had abandoned the place and were currently in a submarine somewhere nearby, most likely watching them. Strangely, though, Robbie could sense nothing beneath the waves around them. There were no humans anywhere within ten miles of his location. Robbie was puzzled, but otherwise relieved. The less visitors and eavesdroppers they had, the better.

"Eighteen," Robbie called to the girl standing only a few feet away, "you ready to go inside?"

"Y…no." She said reluctantly.

"Why?" Robbie asked, impatient and ready for sleep.

"I just don't, okay? Go to bed, it's not like I'm going to run off or anything."

"Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking."

"I don't care _what _you think. I'm staying outside for tonight, and I'm not going anywhere. You don't like it, tough shit." Robbie was briefly inclined to scream something at her, but his weariness weighed on him like an iron hammer, and he decided he would simply let her have her way for tonight. Besides, if they were going to be roommates, they would have to learn a little compromise. In addition to that, Robbie knew from prior experience that if she tried to escape she wouldn't get very far. Saiya-jins typically slept just deep enough to rest their bodies, and as a result were highly alert even when they were in la-la land.

Robbie had discovered this fascinating fact when Trunks tried to take a day off from training by slipping past Robbie's room early in the morning. He was wildly unsuccessful. The next moment, Trunks was eating wall panel as Robbie pinned him against the side of the corridor. All the young fighter could manage was a weak 'good morning,' and Robbie proceeded to laugh his ass off. Much to his pleasure, training started two hours earlier that day.

Therefore he was quite confident that he could catch the female android, but he was also doubtful because of the extent of his injuries. His wounds had all begun to heal and his bones had started to mend, but he wasn't sure how much more energy would be needed to get back to fighting strength. If his body decided to really zonk out, he would be in a world of trouble. Nonetheless, he needed to sleep soon, and it would up to fate to see if he would make it through the night.

"Okay, whatever you want. You'd better be here when I wake up."

"Don't worry monkey-boy," she said grimly, "I will be."

"That's what I want to hear. Good night."

Eighteen didn't even dignify him with a response. She heard a door slam behind her, and she was left alone with her thoughts. Good night…she hadn't had one of those in years.

In the fading light Eighteen sat down on the sands and stared off at the sunset. Night was coming, and an old familiar fear began to gnaw at her. She had always hated sunset. At one time it terrified her, but in her later life it only worked to drive her into depression. Sunlight always seemed to keep her demons at bay, but at nightfall they rose from within and without to attack her. Tonight, she believed, the Saiya-jin would probably leave her alone, but that left her alone with herself, and at times her own thoughts were her worst enemy.

But her immediate thoughts weren't focused as much on her as they were on Seventeen. Just like her, he was alone with a monster, and one that seemed to have even less self-control than her captor. In her worry, she reached out into the sky with her bionic senses to search for his signal. She found it in the last place she expected. Seventeen was only 5.26 klicks north of Gero's lab.

It had been the place where their humanity was stolen from them, and carried a well-spring of other bad memories besides. Eighteen was deeply suspicious that his captor was trying to induce feelings of guilt for what he had done, and she could only wonder if her own captor might do the same. She was deeply worried, and she could only hope he wasn't experiencing the same fears that she was.

Even so, she knew that worrying would do nothing. All she could do was hope that her own words rang true and that they truly were safe from being killed by their victorious opponents. Her own captor seemed to have good intentions, at least as good as a Saiya-jin could have, but she knew from hard experience that appearances could be deceiving. Her father had taught her that. She only hoped the Saiya-jin would not turn out to be the same.

In a matter of days, she concluded grimly, she would know just how good or evil he could be. Would he keep his word and ensure the safety of her and her brother? Or would he forget in the midst of raging anger and just kill her anyway?

These questions weighed heavily on Eighteen's mind as she stretched her thin form out over the warm sand beneath her. Sleeping under the open sky was not her style, especially when she would be so exposed, but tonight it was the only option. Besides, she mused, death could come and take her as easily wherever she went. Her life was as fragile now as it ever was, and she would just have to trust in the unseen and unknown to bring her through the night.

The last glimmers of the day saw a beaten and bloody young android curled up on the sands of a lonely desert island, her battle wounds only beginning to heal. Her wounds of the heart were much less certain.

She slept deeply,without dreams or nightmares, for the first time in ages. At least for the night, she would rest in peace.

* * *

A miracle of miracles! I've updated and a month hasn't gone by. A-freakin'-mazing. I'm taking an Intersession course at my school, meaning that I have plenty of time to write and I've been doing just that every day for the past few weeks. I hope to keep moving and keep updating, since this story is about to take a drastic turn. Keep an eye open!

Fireyone233: I love your enthusiasm, but am not to keen on your grammar…j/k. Thanks for reviewing and keeping an eye on my work.

Thomas Drovin: I let you down last time, but I'm trying to make up for it. Here is the latest installment, and I hope you're pleased.

Hopeful Wings: The story thanks you and quivers with pleasure from your huggle. Here's the next installment, and more is on the way.


	15. The First Days

**Author's Note:** Song Lyrics in italics are from "Out of Exile" by Audioslave. I obviously don't own them, because I would then have an imprint of Chris Cornell's foot in my head.

**Chapter 15: The First Days**

Just before dawn, Trunks was jolted awake by a loud _thud_. He quickly bolted out of bed, and then winced in pain as his wounds from yesterday cried out in agony. The Saiya-jin healing process was no picnic. Rushing out of his bedroom and into the living room, he was stopped by a tall, slim figure in the doorway.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." The figure said in a monotonous tone. Trunks was at least partially relieved by the familiarity of the voice. Seventeen was up early.

"Good morning yourself." Trunks mumbled back. His next stop was the kitchen for breakfast. He had intended to eat everything in sight, until he found out that the fridge was empty. As well as the cupboards. There was no food at all in their cabin. Trunks began to whimper in defeat. He _had _to choose the place without any food. Of course, who could think about such details when your guts were in pieces?

"My, my. Forgetting something?" Trunks was ready to go Super on the spot. You did _not_ make fun of a Saiya-jin when he was hungry.

"Yeah, we never bothered to go shopping…" he muttered.

"Well, _you_ didn't." Seventeen said, and walked back outside. Trunks, curious about this last statement, followed the android out into the early morning sun, and was stunned. Sitting in front of him was a small truck with "NutriTech Markets" plastered on the side. His mind began to analyze the sight, until he remembered that Nutri had something to do with food, and food meant…food! His wounds forgotten temporarily, he darted to the rear of the truck, where he saw Seventeen, standing in front of the biggest lode of groceries he had ever laid eyes on. Seventeen merely looked at him with an icy grin.

"Figured it was the least I could do after roughing you up yesterday, and for you taking me to paradise." He said, cocking a thumb at the verdant forest several yards back.

"Where'd you find this stuff?" Trunks asked, incredulous.

"Found a store that was abandoned a couple of days ago. They left the cooler on and everything, so I decided to help myself. I don't eat, but you do and I want you in tip-top shape for the next few months."

"Gladly." Trunks replied. These next few months were going to be fun, and not in the literal sense, but if motorhead was going to be this generous, things could work out pretty well…

….

_When I first came to this island…_

_That I called by my own name…_

_I was happy in this fortress…_

_In my exile I remained…_

Far away from the verdant mountains, another android awoke in another paradise, yet unlike her brother, she didn't see it as such.

Having spent the night on the beach without so much as a rock for a pillow, she awoke wet and covered with sand, and she immediately knew which parts of her were human because those were the ones that hurt. Besides that, her hair and clothes, which weren't in stellar shape from the previous day, were in an even greater wreck than before. For the first time in her life, Eighteen was thankful she was at least ten feet from a mirror.

With a groan, she pulled herself to a sitting position and looked around. Things didn't seem too different from last night: she was still on a tiny island with a rickety old shack and one palm tree, with no other land in sight.

Besides that, her internal global navigations system had been knocked out. Whether beyond repair or not, she couldn't tell without more advanced diagnostic equipment. Until the repairs were complete, though, she had only the slightest idea of where she was.

Eighteen continued to groan as she lifted herself to her feet. Everything sore and soaked, she turned and began to walk toward the house in hopes of finding some new clothes and a shower.

Last night had been blissfully unusual. Eighteen rarely slept, because for the most part, she didn't need to. Besides that, the twins usually avoided the night. One advantage of their power and speed was that they could traverse the Earth rapidly, covering thousands of miles in a matter of hours. Because of this, they could always outrun nightfall. Whenever the sun began to set, the two androids would fly east, keeping ahead of the darkness.

Last night, though, Eighteen could not run from sunset. She was kept in place by a man who wasn't her brother, and who didn't know or seem to care what night had meant to the twins. He had forced her to stay.

But her sleep was peaceful, and this in itself was strange. Her life always had its share of demons, within and without, and the legion had always kept her occupied with some form of torment or another. Now a new figure had entered her life, and whether he was demon or not remained to be seen. She had not seen the Saiya-jin since last night. She shivered, remembering him.

She continued her walk across the sand toward the house, now realizing that going into the house meant coming face to face with her captor. It was inevitable; the island was the size of a tennis court. She wondered why he had picked a place so cozy and swore that if the monkey tried anything, she'd disembowel him.

Eighteen, mustering a façade of fearlessness, steeled herself to walk inside the house. The door stood in front of her. She reached out to grip the handle and turned. The door opened.

……

Robbie opened his bleary eyes, prepared to get out bed, and then promptly fell face first to the floor. The impact echoed throughout the house. Robbie muttered a string of curses, pushed himself off the floor and found himself plastered to the ceiling. Beyond pissed, he freed himself from the plaster, screamed an epithet at the offending surface and walked out of the room scratching his head. Damn Saiya-jin muscles…

Being a Saiya-jin, his first instinct was food. His stomach protested loudly, and he could only imagine the depth of his hunger with the amount of recovery he had been through in the past night. He had been beaten nearly to death and broken the Saiya-jin power barrier yesterday, yet today he had only a few aches and pains. His body seemed to equate yesterday's events to merely a hard workout.

Robbie quickly realized that he was in an unfamiliar house, after he turned a corner and ended up in a closet. Murmuring to himself, he turned around and looked for the stairs.

The last thing he remembered from the night before was limping into the house, falling up some stairs, and flopping onto the softest surface he could find. In the light of day, he could now see that that was an old twin bed that looked like it hadn't been used in a decade. Thinking back to what he knew of Roshi's house, he tried to remember which hero might have slept there, but that was more of a Dragonball question, and he had only been interested in Dragonball Z. Either way, no one had slept or lived in this building for a long time. The windows were frosted over with dust, along with every surface of the room, and the walls were yellowed and covered with peeling paint. Mold stank in the air. Robbie muttered to himself about 'fixer-uppers' then turned and headed downstairs.

The bottom of the stairs was shrouded in darkness despite the bright morning. Heavy sheets covered all the windows, letting only a dim haze of light through. Other pieces of furniture lay similarly covered throughout the room. As far as Robbie could count, there appeared to be two couches, a chair, and what looked like an entertainment center next to the front door. To his right was the doorway to the kitchen. This room was similarly dark, though all the furniture was uncovered, which here only consisted of a single kitchen table with only one dusty chair. Mildly intrigued, Robbie began to rifle through the cupboards, but was only greeted by more dust, and not a single scrap of food. The refrigerator yielded similar results. Robbie hung his head and sighed. Being a Saiya-jin had its downsides, he realized.

Dirty, sore, and worst of all hungry, he turned and walked out of the kitchen. There was really only one thing left to do this morning, and he was, understandably, not quite thrilled about it, especially without breakfast and a few cups of coffee in him. Yet where the old human boy Robbie would have shirked his duty and wasted time in some obscure corner of the house, the new Saiya-jin Robbie could commit no such blasphemy against honor. Like it or not, he was hardwired to do right by his new Saiya-jin code of ethics. Exhaling loudly and squaring his shoulders, the young fighter marched out of the kitchen and out to the front door. Hesitating for a nanosecond, he gripped the brass handle that much harder out of frustration and swung the door open.

Sadistic sunlight stabbed his eyes. Wincing, he drew back and cursed himself for not remembering one of the most basic of optic rules. However, almost as soon as the light struck him, his eyes adjusted for the glare and his vision returned to normal, with his face still screwed up into mid-wince. Sheepishly, he relaxed and looked ahead. Standing in the doorway, her body strangely arched forward in preparation for opening the door, was Eighteen, the chore Robbie would have sold his tail to avoid.

Standing there, face to face, Robbie was reminded of his early days becoming acquainted with the opposite sex in middle school. His first date had been a dance in the seventh grade, and as he fumbled for the courage to ask the girl out beforehand, the situation had presented itself with an awkward tableau uncannily similar to this one. Robbie could barely suppress a belly laugh as he realized that he would be asking the android girl to "dance" very soon…

He quickly suppressed this line of thinking, and hardened his features into a businesslike, expressionless mask. The easiest way to deal with her would be in this way. It didn't look like she was going to say anything from the half-rueful, half-reserved expression on her face, so he decided to take the plunge.

"Morning." Best to keep it simple. The girl's face wavered slightly, the spell of silence broken.

_So, this is how it starts, _Eighteen thought as the Saiya-jin's greeting echoed in her mind. With that awkward moment past, she decided it was her turn to at least be courteous.

"Morning yourself. Get out of my way," she said, pushing past the Saiya-jin and into the house. Halfway up the stairs, she was already flogging herself at her botched first contact, but by the time she reached the top, her thoughts shifted to finding a shower. Checking in room after room, she finally came to an old dusty bathroom. Luxurious would never be a word to describe the meager facility, but it had a mirror, a shower stall, and a toilet. At the moment, that was all a girl could ask for. Eighteen walked inside and, reaching into the stall, turned the steel handle over to what she hoped would be the warmest setting. She was rewarded with a generous spurt of water, and after a few seconds, it was even decently warm. She basked in the day's first joy.

Reluctantly, she turned off the water, knowing she needed clothes to change into. Searching the rooms again, she found a dresser, and one that had apparently belonged to a woman. To her fortune, she found every article of clothing she would need. Unfortunately, whoever owned the dresser not only had horrific taste, but also insisted on wearing nothing but dresses. She picked up the barely functional items one-by-one in disgust. At very least she wouldn't be naked, but she would need a few new pairs of pants _pronto_.

Gathering up a dark blue dress and some underclothes, she proceeded to the bathroom, only to be stopped by a dark figure in the hall. His displeasure was apparent, even in the dimness. "You know, you could be a bit nicer."

"Look at my clothes; do you think I'm in any condition to be nice?" Ice-blue eyes and an impassionate mask met brown eyes and a disgruntled expression. Robbie realized he should've expected a rather icy start to things.

"Do you hear my stomach? I'm a Saiya-jin and I haven't eaten in about a day. This is just a tad bit more problematic."

"Then why don't you find some food?"

"In a house that looks like it hasn't been lived in in about 20 years? And if I do find anything, it sure won't be much beyond edible. What about you? Do you need to eat at all?" Eighteen stopped. His tone seemed to indicate he was actually concerned. This wasn't something she had been expecting. For a split second, her impassivity wavered.

"It's complicated."

"And…?" Robbie asked impatiently.

"I can eat, and I feel better when I do, but technically I could live the rest of my life without food. Can I get to my shower now? I need to change rags." Robbie snorted at the ironic fashion statement.

"Fine. But I think we need to make a supply run after you get out. Assuming you can fly in a dress." Eighteen suppressed a shudder at the thought of her behind blowing in the wind, and she never even thought of what a landing would be like…Her mind was quickly made up. She threw the clothes back into the bedroom with a grunt of triumph and turned back to the Saiya-jin.

"Let's go now." She said, pushing past him and trotting down the stairs. Moments later, she was outside, and her cybernetically-enhanced eyes quickly compensated for the glare. Robbie followed close behind.

"So," he asked "Where is the nearest city? I'm not from around here, so you'll have to be the guide. One on a very short leash. Got it?" Eighteen hmphed in agreement. As nonchalant as she tried to be, and as genial as he seemed, she was still a captive.

As for the nearest city, she remembered there was a city just a few klicks from here on the mainland, up until she and Seventeen…

Something unwanted gnawed at Eighteen's heart, forcing her to grit her teeth and shake her head to clear it away. There _was_. She shook her head again and flipped her hair back. She faced forward, artic eyes hardened. "There should be some abandoned stores on the mainland, and we won't have to get that close to any cities."

"You're sure the people have fled? No offense, but I really don't feel like walking into a crowded store with you."

"Whatever. Yes, I'm sure. People always panicked and fled even when they were nowhere near us. They had to leave something behind."

"Right, and most of the stuff will still be good for eating." Robbie sounded almost gleeful. "Shall we?" He asked, pointing to the sky. Eighteen responded with a nonchalant "Fine." In seconds they had lifted off from the island and were tracking toward the mainland, their eyes scanning the shores for any signs of life.

They soon found a road heading inland, and it became immediately apparent that they wouldn't run into any civilians anytime soon. Abandoned hover cars littered the roadway in a packed bunch, the obvious remnants of a horrific traffic jam. The line of cars stretched for miles, long abandoned by their drivers. Robbie couldn't sense another human for miles. There had to be towns and villages around, but he couldn't find them. _Damn, _thought Robbie, _this place just had to be remote._

The parade of silent steel continued for several miles more. Eighteen's eyes still scanned the area for both signs of life and civilization. However, as none were becoming apparent to even her sensitive internal instruments, she could only track toward the horizon and hope for something to appear soon. She was one in the opinion of all people who knew Saiya-jin's, in that she didn't want to be alone with a hungry one.

Her eyes suddenly fixed on the object of their search: a small village laid ahead only a few klicks. She could sense that power was still on, and, even better, the place was uninhabited. A quick surge of energy brought her neck and neck with Robbie, and she quickly relayed the news with him. He nodded, and kept his pace toward the village. Eighteen was surprised at his self-control. Meanwhile, she dropped back a few meters.

Below her, outlying farms and homes passed by. In one abandoned field, where cattle and sheep were once fenced, she saw that the gates had been left open, and now many of the animals were grazing freely on the hills and fields. Fields of corn and wheat were soon trampled and devoured by these and other livestock. Barn doors and gates swung idly in the breeze.

Passing moments brought the pair closer to the town. Litter blew idly through the desolate streets. Broken windows opened into deserted storefronts. Hovercars that couldn't be driven were left askew on the side of the road. Again, not a person was seen.

Robbie took the sights in and concluded that this was to be expected. He thought he saw the shadow of a city off in the distance, and even from here he could tell it was abandoned. He thought if he could just get close enough, he would make out the half-decimated monoliths of crumbled concrete and twisted steel. He'd seen it before. He was absolutely satisfied that there wouldn't be anyone around.

Musing over the Androids' handiwork, he unconsciously glanced back, and realized that Eighteen was falling back and losing altitude. By the time he had turned around, she had already touched ground in a farm field next to a stand of trees. Darting to the ground, he landed moments after her.

Coming to a stop, Eighteen leaned heavily on the nearest branch she could find and sighed like a gust of February wind. Her relief was short-lived, however, as Robbie came bounding up behind her. To him, she looked like a runner who had just finished a marathon, but he knew that it would take more than a little flying to tire her out. However, Robbie, lacking in diplomacy to a Saiya-jin degree, burst angrily on her silent reverie.

"Do you mind explaining the holdup?" he said roughly. His only reward was a heavier sigh from Eighteen. "Hey," he said again, "I'm _talking _to you!" His fingers closed around her hanging arm, and she jerked, growled, and stalked away. Robbie yelled after her, until she turned on her heels, face flushed.

"_Can't you just leave me alone?" _She screamed back. She took a few more steps away from him and stopped. Looking ahead of her toward the town, their destination, she shook her head, turned, and walked briskly back the way they had come. Robbie, still impatient and becoming more so by the second, stalked after her, not knowing or caring about her odd state.

"Um…Eighteen? The town's _that _way!" he said, jabbing a finger behind him, which, with her back turned and putting distance between her and the Saiya-jin, she couldn't see.

Robbie materialized directly in front of Eighteen. Her ice-blue were facing the ground, but flashed upwards momentarily when he appeared. Recognition glimmered for a second, then disappeared as she swept past him.

Robbie appeared again in front of her. She stopped this time and looked up. Her words came like a frozen stream.

"Get the hell out of my way." Again she walked around him.

He appeared the third time, a sardonic grin on his face, with his own icy words.

"I can play this game all day." Eighteen's face contorted into a glance that betrayed panic, frustration, desperation, and outright anger. The muscles in her neck and arms tensed, right before she swung a left hook straight for Robbie's head. A flash of white fire was her only warning before she was slammed roughly into a nearby oak, one hand around her throat and the other clutching the offending arm.

"What the _hell _is wrong with you?! I _told _you not to piss me off!" Robbie screamed angrily. Eighteen didn't respond. Her eyes fell, her tensed muscles slackened, and she slumped to the base of the tree. Robbie was further perplexed, but laid her down gently and fell back into a crouch.

Robbie, still frustrated but less so than a few moments ago, observed her features. She lay still and nearly in repose, except her eyes were open and staring lazily at the cluttered roadway. She suddenly spoke, her lips moving slowly and her voice nearly inaudible. Robbie doubted that he would have heard her without Saiya-jin ears.

"Lucky fools," she said, "Night was falling…and we had to leave. Destroying West City took longer than we thought, and then there was that stupid kid we just _had _to play with…" Her eyes rolled away from the scene and toward the woods to her left, then fell down to her lap. "How ironic…the two strongest fighters in the world…and they're scared of the dark…" She laughed bitterly, her head rolling side to side against the tree trunk.

Robbie had seen drunk people before, but she hadn't had anything to drink in at least 48 hours, and he doubted it would have any effect if it did. Eighteen, he thought, would have to down the whole Jack Daniel's plant just to get a buzz.

He soon became aware of his own naiveté, and kicked himself again, not only for that but for forgetting himself in a Saiya-jin rage. Here he was, trying to enlist her help in the salvation of his home world and build a team, and instead he was blowing it at every possible opportunity. He wanted to punch something, namely his own face.

Saiya-jin anger burned again inside him, but this time, it was the shame of failure. Instead of letting it take over, though, Robbie exerted a measure of his own tenuous self-control and fixed his attention on the android.

"Eighteen." He said lightly, or as lightly as he could. The girl's eyes cleared slightly, but glazed over again. "Eighteen!" he said, louder, but lacking the caustic edge. This time she looked at him.

"What?" The one word dropped like an iron weight. Those ice-blue eyes that glared at him were flat and cold, and it was clear that the last thing she wanted to do was help him. In his naiveté he could only guess at the first thing.

"You know what. We have to get going." Eighteen sighed and turned her head away.

"The town's over there," she said, making a weak gesture toward the cluster of buildings only a klick or two away, "the lights are on and no one's home. Why don't you just get the food and let me wait here?"

"No dice. I don't need you pulling a Houdini while I'm out shopping. We're going. Now."

"What the hell do you need me for?! I already told you I wasn't running! Besides, I'm sitting here because…" The fixed expression on the Android's face wavered, and her eyes wandered to the broken monoliths of West City. "I'm sitting here because I can't move anyway." She turned her face to the ground and simply stared. Robbie examined her closely, and even through his own fatigue and impatience he made an effort to understand.

"I can carry you, if you want." He said. Eighteen sniffed, but didn't look up. "Listen, I know it sounds kind of weird and undignified, but I'm just trying to get this over with so we can get back to the island. Okay?"

"And you're going to carry the food how?"

"I'm a Saiya-jin; I'll think of something." Eighteen rolled her eyes and looked off toward the horizon where the decimated city lay. She breathed heavily again. Robbie tried to hold his own emotions in check long enough for her response.

"Nevermind," she said and she rose to her feet and dusted herself off, "I'll go if we can just walk there."

"Brisk jog and you've got a deal." Eighteen rolled her eyes again.

"Fine."

Their brisk jog took them across the few kilometers to the town in a few minutes. Not stopping at the town limits, they raced past shattered store fronts and down refuse-strewn streets until they came to a supermarket.

The low building stood just at the northern edge of the town, its brightly colored 'Nutri-Tech Markets' sign almost glowing in the sunlight. Eighteen slowed as they approached the door, but Robbie charged through, the glass storefront shattering behind him and the body-shaped hole he had left. He disappeared among the aisles of brightly colored boxes and cans.

As Eighteen looked around, she saw that it was another abandoned store. She was surprised to see the place in such a good condition, since people usually looted whatever they could carry. Some towns were still standing when the citizens left; most weren't. This one simply looked like a place that closed down for a holiday and waited to be reopened once the normal pace of life resumed. The sunlight came through the windows and glinted off of shining tile floors and metal ceilings. The reflection carried into the darkened rear of the store, where there were no windows.

Eighteen walked through one of the checkout lines and continued into the store, the only sounds being the muffled slap of her bare feet on the floor and the nebulous rustles and bangs from the rampaging Saiya-jin raider. As she turned down one aisle and walked to the rear, she soon picked up a low humming. The power was still on, and chances were that the coolers would be full. Eighteen herself was ambivalent either way, but she was relieved that her 'hungry Saiya-jin' problem would soon be solved.

The rustling and banging continued for the next ten minutes, and when the sound of shattering glass rang from the back of the store, Eighteen knew Robbie had found the coolers, and cries of triumph disturbed the otherwise peaceful silence.

"Sausage! Yeah! Two hundred pounds worth…not as much as Bulma made, but it'll work…"

She left him to his work and meandered through the eerily ordered environment, the bright designs on the packaging standing out even in the dimness. Cans and boxes she might have bought just to look at if she had any money, and if there were any cashiers to take it. If there were still employees at all…

Reaching the middle of the aisle, she found another aisle leading across the store, and turned left. Rubbernecking, she lazily glanced down aisle after aisle of foodstuffs stacked neatly on endless shelves. Then she passed books, housewares, cleaning supplies, and then beauty supplies, and saw rows of shampoos and soaps. She turned right and started looking for a good conditioner, thinking about her habitually dry hair.

As she compared labels and looked for the best moisturizers, she was struck by the strangeness of the place. Thinking back, she had been in a supermarket a total of seven times in her life, all of them in cities Seventeen and she were about to destroy. They had been filled with people either screaming in fear or cowering in terror, and she usually associated those places with sycophants pleading for their lives rather than value or quality hair products. She had never been a shopper, except at clothing stores, those also sycophant-ridden with no one to comment honestly on her hips, and the idea of simply walking into a place and getting what she needed for the day or week was completely alien. Yet, not 5 klicks from one of her most recent conquests, she was alone; she was just browsing.

Returning to the first aisle with a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, she sat down on the cold, hard tile. Sighing heavily, she closed her eyes and simply listened to the cool silence, only lightly disturbed by the salvage activities of the Saiya-jin.

As her mind drifted, a din of new activity reached her ears. From the front of the store, beeping sounds and alarms could be heard, punctuated by disembodied voices echoing above her, calling for John in Grocery or Jane in Customer Service, along with the clack of caster wheels over metal plates and tiles, and questions from myriad voices. From the aisle she was in, the clicking of tin cans and the rustling of cardboard and plastic could be heard, punctuated by the sometimes violent contact of products with metal baskets.

Eighteen opened her eyes in time to see two shoppers, an elderly man in a well-tailored brown coat and matching hat and a young woman around her own age wearing a white t-shirt and denim shorts, pass in front of her without a sideways glance. Strange, Eighteen thought, since they must've known who she was. They passed each other as well, each going to an opposite end of the aisle. Eighteen rose to her feet, brow furrowed, and turned to walk down the middle aisle, narrowly avoiding a red-shirted young man pushing a cart crammed with diapers. He neither turned to her nor offered an apology for nearly running her down. Eighteen, for her part, didn't care.

She walked through the commercial din, watching shoppers both eagerly and absently plucking their desired products from the shelves, some chatting away on cell phones, some laboring to keep noisy children in check, others patiently comparing nutrition facts or ingredients. Walking down past several more aisles, she came to beauty supplies where she had been before, turned the corner and stopped.

Standing in front of the conditioners where she had been was a tall woman with long blonde hair wearing a sky-blue business suit. Her eyes, blue but of a livelier, more human shade than Eighteen's, were intent on a bottle of conditioner identical to the one she now carried. The woman talked softly to herself, and Eighteen could just make out something like 'hair drier than a bone in the desert…' But she wasn't quite talking to herself. Next to her was a little girl, no older than 10 and a near mirror image of her mother, wearing a simply pink dress. The girl looked up at the woman with large blue eyes and smiled brightly. Eighteen only stared.

Then, turning down the far end of the aisle came first a young boy, same age as the girl, with long black hair, dark as obsidian, and blue eyes. He wore tan slacks and a white striped blue collared polo shirt. His eyes sparkled and he smiled brightly when he saw the tall woman. He was holding a man's hand when he turned the corner, but he let go and bounced over to the woman when he saw her. Eighteen's face became pale, and her legs wobbled.

Then the man appeared, a bulky imposing figure with tidy black hair, and wearing a black suit and red tie. The appearance of his face suggested benevolence as he greeted the tall woman with a kiss on the cheek, and then leaned down to kiss the girl on her head, who had left her mother's side to happily embrace his leg. The conditioner quest was forgotten momentarily as the happy family simply enjoyed a reunion in a supermarket, no doubt after a long day apart, and anticipated going home to a joyful supper together.

So intent was the family that they didn't notice the ragged young woman approaching down the aisle, hands fisted, breath increasing. She stopped five meters short of them and simply stared, her eyes narrowing to slits. The tall woman was the first to notice her, and her blue eyes widened over her children's heads as she took in Eighteen's wild hair and her torn, sodden and dirt-stained clothes, the shirtsleeves ripped off at the shoulders. Eighteen's artic eyes bored a freezing glance into the other woman.

A look of consternation came over the woman's face as she noted the glare. Her brow furrowing, she reached for her son and pulled him close to her. The father, his hand stroking his daughter's hair, paused in mid-smile, frowned, and quickly lifted the girl to his chest.

"Can I help you?" The tall woman asked in her most professional, amiable tone. Eighteen only laughed at her, cold and caustic, as she would laugh at an enemy.

"Isn't this a joke. Left your dirty needles at home and decided to get domestic? What a laugh." The woman only frowned with recognition and then confusion.

"I think you have me confused with someone else…" She began to say, but Eighteen cut her off as she advanced closer.

"How could I confuse you for anything but a strung out, wasted, burnt out old witch!" She shrieked. "Maybe none of these fools can see it," she motioned to the slowly gathering group of onlookers, "but it's clear as crystal to me. C'mon, pull up those pretty sleeves and show your true colors." A look of consternation crossed the man's face as he stepped forward.

"Young lady, I don't know _what _you think you're doing, but I can assure you…" Another shriek of rage from Eighteen cut him off. This time, there were no words, only noise to convey the purest rage she could fathom. He quickly fell back in line with his family, still clutching his now terrified daughter. As the girl began to cry louder, Eighteen's eyes locked with hers, and the expression on her face softened into pity.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered, "I'm going to help you." She looked into the man's eyes and continued speaking. "I'm going to take you away from here, and you'll never be abandoned again…never be hurt again…by anyone. Nobody will ever touch you, and nobody will ever walk by while you scream in the night!"

Tears ran down her face as a ki-ball formed in her hand. The family cowered in fear as she brought her hand up to eye level, finger pointed like an accuser, and fired. The blinding light incinerated the family in moments, destroying everything behind them. But before they disappeared into the next dimension, a change occurred for all to see.

The woman's blue eyes went dull and sank into her head. Her hair, dry to begin with, became even drier, as well as flat and frizzled. Her sleeves disappeared to reveal the tracked out veins of a perennial junkie. The man also changed, the black suit disappearing to reveal a body racked by rampant alcoholism. The children changed, their bodies wasted by malnutrition and bruises covering their skin. The truth was revealed as they dissolved into nothing.

When it was over, Eighteen turned to the people who had been cowering behind her. They all crouched on the tile floor with hands on their heads and stared at her like she was a monster. She only stared back, contempt set in her jaw and blazing from her eyes.

"You let this happen." She said. The people jumped in alarm, but stayed where they were, only looking and cowering. "You saw the truth, and simply let it all go on." She now turned fully toward them, one hand now raised in the air above her head. "And because of that, you're dead."

A blazing spire flamed from her body and jumped up through the ceiling, clawing for the heavens before it exploded, destroying the store and all its occupants in one terrific flash. Eighteen was lost in it all, the destruction of fools who deserved no pity because they gave none as she died each day before their eyes…

"Eighteen!" A voice cried through the cool silence. Eighteen opened her eyes and lifted her head from the shelf behind her. Everyone was gone.

Robbie stood at the end of the aisle, hands on hips and tail swishing nervously. When Eighteen looked over at him, a smile broke across his face, the first smile she had truly seen on him, ever, and one of the first she had seen in years of battles and massacres. She almost turned her head away. "Food's up! This place had a restaurant in the back, so I just turned on the grills and started making sausage. Then I found some pancakes and threw those on too. Anyway, after finding a bunch of other stuff like fruit and cereal, I've got a pretty good spread going, and I might need help finishing it all."

"Why do I highly doubt that?" Eighteen replied. Robbie just shrugged.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm sharing, like my mom taught me. So, you ready to get the day rolling?"

…..

So that's the 15th Chapter it took me two years to write. Meanwhile, you've all been waiting so patiently (as you sent reviews and private messages to my inbox to prod me along) for the story to continue. So here it is. It may be prideful of me, but I think I did something totally new in this chapter that I haven't done before and that many DBZ writers haven't done. Of course, I haven't read too much DBZ fiction lately so maybe I'm not the best person to be making that claim, but it definitely surpasses everything I've done in the past. Overall, I'm happy to present you the latest installment, and I eagerly await the comments of those who have been waiting so long.


	16. Evening

Author's Note: Song Lyrics are from "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace and no, I don't own them, the lyrics or the band.

Chapter 16: Evening

_Maybe we'll turn it around because it's not too late, it's never too late…_

Android Seventeen watched with muted glee as his new half-Saiya-jin housemate dove into the truck and began gathering up his breakfast. As the truck rocked and shook, the android padded softly away into the trees. With his captor otherwise occupied, he would have plenty of time to explore the land. He had no intention of escaping; he knew Trunks would find him eventually, and he simply didn't feel like it.

The cabin where Trunks and he had landed was hidden in a deep and shadowed valley surrounded by pines. Seventeen knew the area all too well; the homing beacon of Gero's lab pulsed steadily in the back of his bionic senses. Yet something else was there as well, something that made it all worthwhile: Eighteen's signal. It was faint, but it was there and pulsed out a steady message of _I'm here, I'm safe, _and that was all that really mattered in the end.

Seventeen set his feet toward the top of the heavily wooded eastern ridgeline, rising high above his head. A worn footpath wound through the pines to the top, and a brisk chill breeze blew through the trees, shaking the branches in his face. Yet the wind, always powerful here in the mountains, could neither slow nor halt his advance. He walked up the slope as easily as a man walks his child through the park.

When he crested the ridge, the wind whipped through his clothes and hair freely, and his eyes watered before homeostatic controls brought his bodily functions back under control. His vision cleared, he stopped and looked out over the wide vista. Ahead of him and to either side were tree-lined mountains stretching up from the earth, both small and great. In between them were deep valleys, some wide and sunlit, others so narrow that sunlight rarely penetrated their depths. Here and there the rocks and grass were crisscrossed with trickling streams and rivulets.

Setting his eyes on the next nearest peak, his body began to rise from the earth, but after a moment he set himself back down again and started walking down the far side of the ridge. Beneath him was a steep slope leading to a narrow, shaded canyon where a small stream ran. Looking to his right, he noticed that the stream began further up the canyon somewhere, so he set his steps that way, picking his way down the rock-strewn slope.

Once his feet touched the shaded, gravelly bottom, he began following the stream upward until he came to its source; a small spring gushing from the rock. Running water trickled down the rock face a few feet into the creekbed and then began its journey down the canyon. Seventeen followed the flowing water along its route as it picked up speed. Smaller rivulets flowed down the canyon sides and fed into the creek, causing it to swell and grow, becoming a stronger stream. The stream continued, now almost a river, until it came to another hole in the rock face and disappeared into darkness.

Seventeen looked downward at the water rushing into oblivion and sighed. Leaning against the wall next to it, he looked back and realized that he could see the spring only a couple hundred feet from where he was standing. The sounds of water rushing against the stone echoed in his ears. Looking up, he sighed again.

_Can't see the end until you're there, I guess._

He looked at the canyon again, and saw how the river was fed by the streams coming down the canyon, and noticed how though there was water, nothing grew down here without the sunlight. All was bare rock and gravel. Crouching down, he picked up some of the dry sediment and let it run through his fingers. As the last of the dust fell, he leapt from the bottom of the canyon and set his feet on the opposite ridge. A vista of mountains and canyons spread out before him. It would appear to be a maze to those unfamiliar with the area, and a minor annoyance even to those who were, but he knew where he was going.

Leaping from cliffside to cliffside, and mountaintop to mountaintop, Seventeen covered the miles quickly, the forests and shadowed hollows sweeping by beneath his feet with only a few scenes attracting his notice. He was far too focused to take his usual muted pleasure from such scenes, however. One sheer cliff rose up sharply from the jumbled mass of rocks and vegetation. Toward this monolith, reaching into the sky like a madman's fist to heaven, he surged on. His feet leaving the last peak, he alighted nimbly on a ledge leading into a small cave set in the side of the mountain. Before he had gone even a few feet, darkness surrounded him.

His technologically aided vision adjusted to the gloom with ease, and in less than a nanosecond he could see as if it were high noon. He knew, however, that even if his eyes were burned from his skull, he would still know every inch of where he was going. He knew that he could walk into this place without missing a step. This place was more a part of him than even his hometown, now a smoking, bloody ruin his sister and he had created.

_...Home..._He shook his head. A grave yawned open in his mind, and he resolved with grim determination not to fall into it again. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in muted fury, he walked on.

A hollow thump echoed through the cavern as Seventeen's boot fell on a metallic plate, the pitted, rusted remains of a large door that had once protected the entrance to the chamber beyond. Seventeen remembered his handiwork well and proceeded into the chamber, the light growing dimmer as he moved farther from the sunlight. He passed through the doorway, and surveyed the scene that had once been the lab of Dr. Gero.

In spite of spending almost a year imprisoned in this room, he barely knew what anything was. His eyes immediately fell on the bank of man-sized tubes on the right wall, two labeled '17' and '18.' This was where he had held them after that day...It was a struggle to remember; the knowledge of his most hellish decision weighed on him like so many piles of corpses.

A dead computer screen exploded under Seventeen's fist. The hollow pop echoed through the chamber and eventually faded back into silence. He walked on. He barely knew what he was doing here, and it had always fascinated him how you wanted to come back to your past, no matter how many coffins you found there. He never understood why a prisoner couldn't escape through an open door, or why dogs always returned to their vomit.

Finally he came to the tubes that had held him and his sister for almost a year, and a dull, close feeling weighed down on him. He couldn't remember much of what went on in there, except for constantly telling himself it was all for Eighteen. What had his sister's name been? What had his own name been? He couldn't remember. Who cared anyway, when their names were just whatever their drunk ass father could come up with in a brief moment of sobriety?

A voice screamed in his ears. In fact, the room seemed full of voices now. One screamed the loudest, especially this close to the holding tubes.

_I AM YOUR CREATOR! YOU WILL OBEY ME!_

That was Gero, just before he lost his head. Seventeen wanted to chuckle at the thought, but it had been too long, and too much water had passed into darkness for him to care. Now he just squatted on his heels and listened. The room was noisier than he expected.

This was Gero's lab, so his voice dominated, first discoursing on human advancement and development, then raging on world domination. The first was merely a veneer, and they had been two stupid kids too naive to realize it. Besides, they probably wouldn't have cared anyway. When you come to two runaways far from home, freezing and starving, and talk about unlimited power, what do you expect? They jump on it like a hot ham and cheese sandwich. And Gero knew it. Crazy as a shithouse mouse, but no fool.

_You stupid punk._

Another voice, one he could either hate or fear. Not that the original owner of either voice was around anymore, all thanks to him, but memories had a way of resurrecting the dead and dropping them right into the mind. He was there, nonetheless. A well-placed ki-blast had eliminated the man long ago, but the spirit was immortal.

_Why do I even feed a crawling rat like you?_

Nerves, what was left of his human system, jumped in his face at the memories. The old man had been free with his hands and nothing else. Except almost...no, he didn't want to think about that. Not yet. Not ever, if he had his way, but skeletons had to be brought out of closets and demons exorcised. Just not now. There were enough to fight in this personal Hell he'd brought himself to.

_Sure, where do I sign up?_ Another voice.

_ Snow and wind blew hard down the icy street, ruffling the hair of a man and a boy standing on the sidewalk. 'So,' the man with long grey hair said, 'do we have a deal?' The boy, long black hair blowing in the wind, turned and looked at a girl with blonde hair, eyes screwed shut against the wind and shivering. He replied: 'Sure, where do I sign up?'_

The voice of the man he hated the most. The voice of the man he wanted to kill the most. Not even a man, just a stupid kid with dreams of power and no goddamned circumspection. If he had even thought for five minutes instead of blindly groping for his next meal...His fist clenched, and he was about to let another ki-blast fly, but he relaxed. Wrecking this place any further than it was wouldn't do anyone any good. Besides, he had a full day of sparring with Trunks ahead, and he wanted to save his strength for the fun he would have. The kid Robbie may be the top dog now, but Trunks was still fishbait.

He wanted to leave, but instead he slumped down on the battered remains of another nameless machine. Some hulk with green armor and orange hair. It may have been another android, but with all the blast holes in it, it was just another failed experiment. He exhaled heavily, stirring the echoes around him. As the dead taunted him with a thousand voices, all screaming his failures at him, he answered back with the only answer, the only justification he ever had. He breathed her name like a deity. _Eighteen..._The only one who ever made him feel important, she was the only sister and mother he'd ever had. She gave him the courage to go against their father that dark night. She gave him the will to trek across the entire world looking for a new home. She gave him the strength to continue fighting anyone who wanted a piece of her, even on the losing end. Her light blinded him enough to make the worst decision in the history of the world, literally.

Gero had done a good job erasing the memories of their previous lives. So much so that they didn't realize until a few days before his death that they had even been human. The memories hadn't totally returned, but it seemed the most important ones, the ones he wanted burned from his head the most, had come back. One in particular blazed brightly with hellish fire.

_...I'm scared..._Came the young girl's trembling voice.

_I know, but we've been over this. This guy's gonna make our problems go away forever. _A boy's voice said as he laid her in the iron tomb from which she would infernally resurrect. He saw his younger, dumber, self bend his head into the sepulcher and kiss her on the forehead; his own hand hit the button that closed the door over her. Then he followed her to become the destroyers of the world.

She had been everything to him then; his whole identity. He protected life, and she made it worth living; no, that couldn't be true, not anymore. No; he destroyed the cities, and she danced gracefully on the ashes. When they came out of those tubes, their eyes were opened and they saw the promise for what it was. But then the programming kicked in, and their regrets were drowned out in the relentless pounding of Gero's maniacal voice screaming 'Kill Everyone!' So they started with him.

That voice still screamed in his mind, every pulse like raw sewage seeping into his brain. He hated it, but still it remained. Yet he was tired of it. He was tired of running around the world, fleeing the dark and killing the light. He was tired of running with the only person he cared about here and there on missions of death. He had only wanted to kill one man, and now he'd killed millions, good fathers with bad. And the woman he wanted to protect shared his crimes.

A bright light that was tickling at the edge of his vision now rushed in, and he held a hand up instinctively, already realizing what it was. Sunset. He figured his reverie would keep him here that long, and now a whole day was gone. He wouldn't even have time to stretch before daylight vanished. He tensed instinctively, ready to flee for the horizon until the sun backed up its downward trek, but he quickly remembered that was now impossible. He was stuck here, forced to pass what might again be another sleepless night. Not that he needed sleep, but being able to watch the stars without being afraid of dead people was a fond wish. He would have to make the most of it again.

As fading light continued to flood in, a shadow stepped in to block it. His voice cut through the silence.

"I thought I'd find you here." Trunks said calmly. "You know, I was actually trying to keep you away from this place. Mind telling me why you couldn't help yourself?"

"I guess I don't know what's good for me," Seventeen sneered, "like your father."

More tubes shattered and metal crumpled as the android was instantly pinned against the wall. "Don't push me," Trunks growled darkly.

"Are you disagreeing?"

"He died because of you."

"He had too much pride to surrender." Trunks slammed him into the wall again. Harder. His eyes bored through Seventeen. "Everyone who fought us that day died. The ones who didn't lived. A little longer." A roar was the only thing Seventeen heard before he was soaring across the mountaintops. With a loud crash he tore a rent in one cliffside and fell into a shaded valley. He looked up to see Trunks standing with his sword drawn.

"So I guess we're getting some training after all," Seventeen sneered as he pushed himself up. He tottered once before he gained his feet. He was standing for a second before he found himself with Trunks' hand gripping his throat.

"Why did you have to do all that?! Why?!" He lowered his voice and released his grip on Seventeen with a growl. "We're only here because you and your murdering sister had to go..." It was Trunks turn to be surprised as Seventeen pinned him to the rock wall behind him. For the first time, Trunks saw that sneering mask crack. His words were equally dark.

"Don't blame _anything_ on her. She's innocent."

"She's as guilty as you are." Trunks growled back. Seventeen swung, but his fist struck hard rock as Trunks flashed out of his grasp and stood behind him. Seventeen turned in a fit of rage in time to receive a boot to the face. Trunks tried to follow up with a punch, but only met air as Seventeen leapt overhead and came to rest in the middle of the clearing. Trunks turned to meet him. The two stared each other down in the fading light. A white-hot aura began to build around Trunks, while tightening eyes and jaw were the only warning that Seventeen was powering up.

Trunks was the first to rush forward, with Seventeen a second behind. The dull pounding of hammerfalls on flesh soon filled the narrow valley with sound as the last of the light drained away. Their faces were masks of indignant horror as their movements sought the weak point and the killing blow. Vision faded and only sight and sense were left. Trunks suddenly struck air and a fist under the chin sent him wheeling for the sky. He caught himself just in time to face Seventeen again. Now they floated face to face above the shattered rocks, each one only seeing the dimmest outline of the other under the starlight.

"Watch what you say if you want to live." Seventeen's words barely carried across the windblown distance between them, but Trunks heard. He raked his sword from its sheath and the screech made the beginning of his answer.

"Never speak of my father again and so will you!" he yelled back. In the fading light he could tell that Seventeen was coming toward him, but gradually, not fearing his drawn sword. Trunks wasn't about to back down, but he tensed as Seventeen drew closer. Then Seventeen spoke, now standing as far away as any conversation would allow.

"Why are you defending him? You never knew the bastard. I did." Trunks hands clenched but he held his ground.

"You knew him only long enough to kill him."

"Vegeta was an arrogant prick who only cared about being the best. He left you and your mother to go off and play hero. We finished him and almost got you too."

_ Seventeen was the first to sight them fleeing the battlefield. Looking out over a field of lifeless bodies, the green-haired woman and her small child were easy to pick out. The two androids caught up to her in a flash, alighting among a pile of rubble that was once a skyscraper. He could sense her fear as he approached, ready to destroy Vegeta's family and finish the defeat of the Saiya-jin prince, and the look on her face was unmistakable: cornered. But that look shifted at the last second before smoke covered the ruined building . He was blown off his feet moments later by the enormous pressure of a jet engine ignition, and the vehicle was gone before either android knew it, carrying Bulma Briefs and her small son, Trunks._

Once the smoke had cleared, the Androids were left speechless. It wasn't five minutes before Eighteen started whining about the heat drying her hair, but Seventeen just stood watching the sky. _Trunks must be a lucky kid; his father died protecting his planet and his mother almost died protecting him._. Part of his mind screamed he'd get her someday, but the human voice was always there as well: _Nice job_. Then they lifted off from the island and flew northeast to South City. Within an hour, everyone was dead, but Eighteen had a gorgeous new perm.

"But you failed." Trunks spoke back. "And that was your biggest mistake." Seventeen could see the determination in his eyes, that he would fight this out until one of them was dead, tonight if need be. But Seventeen hadn't shaken the bone weariness that dropped him into the silent metal tomb he'd just visited, and it still pulled at him. A hundred smart retorts popped into his head, but he let them all fall. He was just so damn tired of this shit. Trunks was still eyeing him warily, so it was time to say something good.

"Whatever. It's night. Let's get out of here."

"What?" Trunks blurted out. "You insult my family and try to kill me, then think it's all settled?" Once again Seventeen's passive mask shook, but not with anger.

"Whatever! I'm sorry alright!" And with that he took off across the mountains and canyons, back toward the cabin and hopefully some rest. Trunks only hovered there, wondering what to do next. If he'd had a fight with his mom, which happened frequently, especially where the androids were concerned, he'd give her time to cool off and find her later. He was Bulma's son, so he usually needed the time himself. He'd do the same for any friend. But Seventeen killed his father. He'd also killed all of his mother's best friends. He would never know all the people that had protected the earth before him. Duty still pulsed, strong as ever, heavier than a mountain, but the exact course of action was still unclear to him. Destroying Seventeen was no longer a simple option or even the best one, since a new enemy loomed just down the road. He would just have to trust Robbie and hope somehow he was having a better time of it then he was.

Eyes set, Trunks followed Seventeen back to the cabin as night fell. The evening of the first day.

….

Robbie stared at the bank of colored lights with perplexity, wondering how the hell this was supposed to work. He finally just starting pushing green ones and waited for something to happen. Two seconds later, he found himself plastered to the far wall, his tail twice its normal size and a few new spikes added to his hair. A string of curses past, he was on his feet scratching the back of his neck and fixing his shirt. After settling his now smoothed tail in its place around his waist, he moved toward the stairs.

He found himself in a small basement, little larger than his bedroom at home. The ceiling was barely high enough to clear his head and the walls barely beyond the reach of his fingertips. Combined with the foot of dust that choked everything, it was a normal basement. The only thing abnormal was the equipment: a bank of colored lights the size of a mailbox and a steel cylinder the size of a large punching bag. Two thick cables connected the two, and another set of cables ran from the cylinder up into the house. He assumed, rightly, that this must have something to do with the power, and now the lights burned brightly all through the house.

A few other things must be working, he thought, when a startled Eighteen greeted him at the top of the stairs, looking like her tail would be twice its normal size if she had one.

"You could have waited 'til I was out of the bathroom," she said flatly, "By the way, the outlet exploded." _Crap_, Robbie thought. He went to a nearby closet while Eighteen began turning off lights and appliances that had been left on. Fishing around through the dust covered pile of junk, he found what he had been seeking, and threw it to Eighteen. "An extension cord?" She asked quizzically.

"Yeah," Robbie said with a smirk, "I'm a fighter not an electrician."

"Oh gee thanks, now I can run a hairdryer." She shot him a dirty look and stalked off. Robbie knew he was unprepared for life with women, remembering now why he stayed away from dating for so long. One look at his mother's section of the bathroom counter sent him into a mental tailspin. And forget the makeup aisle. By now, he knew, she had colonized the entire upstairs bathroom, leaving no room for any self-respecting Saiya-jin male. Robbie, meanwhile, took the downstairs bathroom. Small, simple, perfect.

With Eighteen gone, Robbie could now turn his attention to the afternoon's activity. Stepping back through the spacious kitchen, probably the biggest room in the house, he stepped out the back screen door and into a hot blast of sunlight. There in the tiny backyard stood a large truck plastered with the Nutri-Tech logo. Running up the back ramp, his stomach rumbled lightly. Breakfast had passed a few hours ago, and Robbie was used to a snack before lunch. Ten pounds of sausage and half a bushel of apples later, both washed down with a light gallon of milk, he was satisfied and invigorated.

The main problem was keeping everything cold. He had found a fairly large freezer in the house, but that still left half a truckload. Scratching his head, munching on an apple and looking out over the wide, sunlit ocean, he suddenly had an idea. Jumping from the truck and crawling under, he gently pushed his hands between the body of the truck and the frame, and with a gentle tug, ripped the entire cargo area free. Now balancing a large crate almost the size of Kame House on one hand, he began to walk into the water. In a minute he had hit the dropoff and fell several feet to the sandy bottom, the sun above only an orange disk. The water down here would be cold to a human, but not to him. His work done, he surged upward through the water and landed in a graceful backflip back on shore. Soaking wet, he pulled off his shirt and wrung it onto the sand. With the truck in the water, the cold would keep all the food while the box remained sealed. His mother had originally been from New York, and had told him how her mother always put food out in the snow during the winter. _Good idea, Mom_ he thought.

Robbie stopped for a moment, processing the rest of the day and all that had to happen to make Kame House habitable. _A shit-ton_, he thought grimly. The place had to be cleaned and de-bugged, literally, from top to bottom, the appliances had to be all turned back on, bedding washed…the list was endless. Robbie had cleaned his room no more than fifty times since turning ten. His mother looked like a smarter lady by the second.

Which brought up his second problem: Eighteen. Whatever was bothering her was no little thing, and their trip to the supermarket earlier hadn't helped. He scratched his head again and scowled at the water. Once they had returned to the island, Eighteen immediately fled upstairs and disappeared. Her appearance an hour ago was the first he'd seen of her since. More than that, she was completely silent. Disturbingly unusual, especially for a blonde. Robbie briefly wondered if she just spontaneously went into standby mode like his PC back home.

Robbie's head clouded as he thought back to the supermarket. He had found Eighteen in the shampoo aisle, no surprise of course, but her eyes were spaced and she was muttering to herself. Robbie could think of few things worse than an insane killer robot he just happened to be alone with. He remembered standing for a full minute, completely unnoticed, watching her eyes stare unblinking at the floor. Each hand opened slowly, then clenched so tight he was expecting drops of blood. Muscles in her face jumped, and her body flexed and relaxed. Watching the pulsating rhythm, transfixed, did nothing to reveal the inner storm. For the fiftieth time since coming to this strange new world, Robbie felt completely out of his depth.

His thoughts strayed at this point to his father, still fighting the war against the unknown enemy back home. With the time dilation, Robbie didn't know how anything was going. Earth could be destroyed, or the threat may not have even arrived yet. The not knowing was maddening. Not knowing what was happening at home, not knowing what was happening here…it all weighed on him. Walking out of the canyon after making his fateful wish on the Dragon Balls, he felt strong, in control, confident. The mission seemed nearly won. But now he was seventeen again. A stupid kid with no knowledge of the world and a monstrous job to do. Sometimes he ached for high school again; screwing around in class with Mike and Dan, football in the fall and baseball in the spring, exams, Sydney.

He was surprised that his obsidian friend could come back so strong now. He remembered when he would barely talk to her, and then one science project changed everything.

_Robbie sat at a plain wooden office desk in a corner of the sepulchral room. The desk would be brown, but was draped in a black curtain, with a black mat covering the surface on which his MacBook sat. On the screen in front of him was a rough schematic of their project, and rustling sounds behind him were the only indicator that anyone else was in the room. On the bed behind him, Sydney was unpacking their recently purchased supplies for their chemical fabrication project: a crucible, several different size test tubes, test tube racks, and some things he couldn't identify. It had all been Sydney's idea, with Robbie's contribution being cash, a car, and a better computer for the graphics-rich report they planned on writing. While Robbie was handling the documentation side, he had little clue what they were actually doing. _

_ "Hey" A wordless sound came back in reply. "Do you need any help with that?"_

_ "No, thanks." _

_ "Why don't I start setting up the racks on the table?"_

_ "No, that's fine." Turning around, Robbie saw her eyes down, her face hidden behind her long black hair and her hood. Her small hands worked at laying out all the parts at the foot of her bed; racks on the bottom row, tubes and crucible on the top row, chemical material to the right, tools to the left. She made up for bad design sense with raw organization._

_ Even so, Robbie couldn't stand sitting. The athlete in him had to take an active role. He stood up and walked over to the table on the other side of the room, then moved to begin setting up the racks. A small hand clamped on his wrist immediately._

_ "I said, it's fine." Eyes still hidden behind locks of obsidian, voice flat. "I'll finish the project and send you the data. You can go home now." Her hands went back to arranging the materials without looking up. Robbie sniffed._

_ "I thought this was a group project? We're supposed to work together."_

_ "We are," she said, "I do my part, you do yours, and we pass."_

_ "But how am I supposed to write up a project I didn't even do? You're going to have to send me the data, the lab procedure, materials list, results, everything. The only part I'll get to create will be the recommendations."_

_ "Don't worry, I'll do that part."Robbie brushed his fingers through his medium length blonde hair._

_ "Syd, that's not the…"_

_ "Sydney," she said, voice no longer flat, "If you can't even pronounce my name, how can you do a lab report? That's fine. Let me borrow your MacBook. I'll do the experiment and write the report. Your name will be on everything and we'll get an A. You can leave now, and I'll talk to you Tuesday in class." The most Robbie had heard out of her yet. The run to get the materials had been agony beyond words. This was not going how he expected._

_ "I'm sorry, Sydney," he said, voice low, "I just don't want you to have to do everything. It makes me feel like a bad partner, and it's not fair to you. Can I stay and watch you do the experiment? Then I'll take everything down and we can finish everything today." He added another apology for good measure. _

_ She looked up, her hood back, swept her hair from her face, and looked at him for a brief moment. "Fine" was all she said. As satisfied as one being sold the Golden Gate Bridge, he sat back down in his chair as Sydney went over to the table. Within minutes, the racks were up, the tubes placed with the proper chemicals inside, and the Bunsen burner was lit. Without having a gas source, they had to use an electric version. Once he smelled the burning, he started._

_ "Syd…ney," he said, "We need to open a window, or we'll trip the smoke alarm!" Robbie moved to open the window behind the table, but was once again stopped by her quick hands. One hand pressed against his wrist while another hand flicked a switch on the wall. A whirring sound began over their heads, and the smoke began to move upward to the vent set into the ceiling. Robbie knew why he hadn't noticed before; no one put ceiling vents in their bedroom. _

_ "It's fine. Sit," Sydney said. Robbie sat and watched, as annoyed as he had ever been in his teenage life. The bed creaked under him as he fidgeted nervously, then settled into the slump of dejection. To his left sounded the clink and clank of an experiment at work. The stone faced girl lit the burner under the first beaker, then began to add other materials where needed. Robbie watched, vaguely as smoke began to rise, and liquids and solids began their slow transformations. _

_ Sydney's small white hands moved deftly, arranging everything to perfection, in spite of the heavy black clothing that should have held her down. She quickly prepared each solution and added it to the next to complete the chain of chemical reactions that would drive the experiment forward. Robbie could only look on, grudgingly admitting that she was truly the one who should be standing at the helm. Reaching for his notes, he began to absently scrawl out some observations. But as Sydney's hands moved for the third in a line of test tubes, a frayed sleeve caught a screw and turned it loose, releasing the test tube into the air. The renegade tube fell gracefully, top end tipping down to spill its contents onto one small white hand._

_ Robbie's head turned, he heard the screaming suddenly, almost echoing in the sepulchral chamber. Notes went everywhere as he jumped up. Sydney gripped her right wrist as the hand turned the mottled white and red of an angry burn. Her hood and hair back, Sydney's face was pale and her eyes wide with shock. Robbie paled himself as he saw the extent of the burn, starting from her fingers and working back to the wrist, it covered her entire hand. Part of her sleeve had been bleached. _

_ Sydney began to slump to her knees, and Robbie leapt up to hold her on her feet. Looking out into the hall, he saw the upstairs bathroom and moved her down the hall, knowing he had to douse the burn in water first. Even being ingloriously dragged along, shock kept the girl from resisting. Under her breath she began to mumble 'I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine…" Robbie, not listening, brought her to the sink and, peeling back her sleeve, pulled her hand under the running water, delayed a moment by her weak protest. _

_ The water beginning to wash the excess chemicals, Robbie began to ease, but had no idea if they were yet out of the woods. Having only the vaguest idea of what they had been working with, he didn't know what else to do. He had to find out what was in those tubes. "Sydney, what was in the tube that fell?" Sydney looked at him._

_ "It was…I think…I don't know, just leave me alone I'm fine…go home and let me clean all this up…" Sydney continued to mumble the same words over and over, leaving Robbie to find another way. "Wait here," he said._

_ Leaving Sydney's hand to soak, he returned to the room. The burner was still lit, so he quickly switched it off and cleaned up the chemicals as best he could, at least satisfied that there was only a small spot on the desk surface. Next, he turned to the bed and took note of the various chemicals used and their place in the experiment. Realizing what would have been in the third tube based on Sydney's organization, he determined the chemical name and went to his computer. From school and his job at the grocery store, he knew that most chemicals had a Materials Safety Data Sheet, and he quickly found the right doc online. The good news was that the chemical was not super harmful, and should be handled as a normal burn. That being said, washing with water was the first step._

_ Setting his laptop back on the table, he walked out of the room and back to the bathroom. Set along the long upper hall was a series of windows. In front of these sat several exotic plants and flowers, part of Sydney's mom's vast collection, most of which adorned the front and back yards. Sitting between two red flowers was a green plant with stiff, smooth leaves. From what his mom had told him, this was aloe vera, and a vague memory surfaced of a small boy with blonde hair sitting in the kitchen crying, while his mom rubbed sap from the aloe onto a small burned hand. Reaching out, and hoping Mrs. Mayes wouldn't kill him, he snapped off the end of one of the leaves and continued to the bathroom. _

_ Sydney was sitting on the toilet, her hand still under the running water. Her head was down and her hair covered her face. She was so quiet that Robbie began to worry and touched her shoulder, only to hear the expected "I'm fine." She appeared to be out of shock, and the burn no longer had the mottled color, although the area was still an angry red. Without a word, Robbie shut off the water and took her hand. Expecting a sudden jerk, her hand lay still in his. He began to rub on the aloe._

_ "You know," she began, her voice flat, "my mom will be mad." Robbie nearly started at the unexpected voice._

_ "This will grow back, and the sap will help the burn. Your mom will be relieved you're okay, trust me."_

_ "No she won't," came the flat voice, "she doesn't care. As long as I stay out of her way, she's fine. I'm optional." Robbie knew very little about the Mayes family, but they were friendly enough when he came over, and were now working out in the yard as they completed the project upstairs. Anything could be true._

_ "I'll take the heat if she asks." A muffled noise was her only response. Robbie continued to rub in the rest of the aloe. His hands were greasy but the burn looked to be fading. After wrapping her hand in bandages from the medicine cabinet, they returned to the room and sat for a few minutes in silence. Half an hour later, Robbie was on his way home, but with a time set for tomorrow to finish the experiment and complete the report, though what occupied him most was the greasiness of aloe and the touch of one small white hand._

Coming back to a sandy beach in another world, miles and universes away from Sydney's bedroom, he looked up at a woman in another bedroom, with deeper wounds and more uncertain remedies. For a brief second, Eighteen's face appeared in the window, and just as quickly withdrew into the dimness. Going up there was the last thing he wanted to do. Yet he knew he had a job to do; one thing he learned was that mature adults always handled problems head on, without delays or excuses. But smart adults also had a plan, a commodity on which he frequently ran short. He needed time to think.

Dust flew and floors creaked as Robbie launched an all-out attack on the dirt and disorder of Kame House. Starting with the kitchen, the highest priority as far as a Saiya-jin was concerned, he hooked up all the appliances, and then proceeded to clean every stovetop burner and microwave in the room. Pulling the huge mass of pots, pans, and cooking utensils out of the dusty cabinets, he cleansed the cabinets, dumped the incongruous pile into the sink, and lightning washed each, delivering it back to its place with a 20 foot throw across the room. As Robbie's Saiya-jin reflexes took over, his body blurred; dust and mold flew, dark surfaces became sparkling white, the crooked became straight, and light streamed through now clear windows. The kitchen of Kame House was once again fit for feeding humanity.

Still a blur, Robbie descended on the living room with equal alacrity. In the absence of a vacuum, the Saiya-jin's body began to spin violently, a whirlpool of wind drawing dust from air and upholstery and siphoning the cloud out through the front door. Sheets covering the couches lifted and flew like terrified ghosts into the sunshine. Furniture that had been hastily moved was put back in place. Once again, windows cleared to light a room now ready for living.

The downstairs finished for now, but with much more to go, Robbie charged upstairs, stopping only to clean one window on the landing. Clearing the next flight in a flash, Robbie entered the hall, only to be stopped by Eighteen. The time for thought was over.

While Robbie had been furiously working to set things right for their several-months stay at Kame House, what had occupied Eighteen? Her face was the same cold mask as always, but something was missing, even more so than usual. The lack of something gave her face and eyes a look of flatness, or transparency, and dimmed her once formidable figure. So striking was the sense of insubstantiality that her gaze seemed to be on him and nowhere all at once. She said nothing, and the lack of even a sarcastic remark completed the sense of emptiness.

With a final hollow look, Eighteen turned right and walked into the bathroom next to Robbie. As the door clicked shut, he exhaled. With his own thoughts in chaos, as usual, he was unable to decipher hers. Neither of the androids displayed much emotion at the best of times, besides cynicism and sarcastic humor, but this was something different. Eighteen's emotions before her capture were at least something, but now bordered on nothing. A block of ice had been replaced by a void. Which, of course, led Robbie to wonder what needed to be done? Without motivation, Eighteen wouldn't train, and if she wouldn't train, they wouldn't have the strength they needed to defend Earth when the time came. Visions came again, visions that began to haunt beyond Robbie's nightmares, his friends' lifeless bodies in the street, his mother dead in a pile of rubble, his father crushed by giant metal hands. The nightmares would be real if he failed.

Before the next thought came, Robbie was at the door knocking. At first silence greeted him, then a vacuous voice called 'what?'

"Can you open the door?" Robbie asked.

"I can hear you fine." Eighteen called back. For the fiftieth time, Robbie's tail bristled. He suppressed the urge to annihilate the door with his fist. Yet again, he engaged his will to prevent his primal Saiya-jin urges from taking over. With the increasing stress of his situation, these tried to become a more dominant force in his thoughts, like an alter ego trying to gain control.

Yet again, though, he pushed them down and thought of his home, his family, his mission. He thought of his father fighting to prepare earth for invasion and his mother trying to support her family as always. And now his hero fought beside him to forge an unstoppable team to meet the coming threat. With all that power backing him, he would do what needed to be done. And he knew that beyond fighting, one thing a Saiya-jin never backed down on was duty. Whether a battle of fists and _ki_ or mind and heart, a warrior would accept no defeat, surrender or retreat.

"Are you okay?" Robbie asked, trying to force his tone to something indicating concern, which wasn't entirely difficult; he wanted Eighteen to be okay for more reasons than one. The DBZ fan in him was still alive and well.

"I'm fine. Are you done?"

"Yeah; I was just checking. You seem quiet." Once again, Robbie tried to keep a normal tone.

"I'm an android, remember? No human feelings," Eighteen replied, with a strange conversational edge. Robbie scoffed.

"You've chewed me out a couple of times since we've met. Seems pretty human to me."

"I'm a machine, I can fake things. Like caring." Same tone as before, but different than the emotionless void he heard earlier. An improvement, perhaps? But not. Her mind was as closed as the door in front of him, and a well-placed _ki_-blast would clear one, but not the other. What could break down a door in the mind?

Robbie's thoughts wandered back to the sepulchral room and what he learned from that small, white, burned hand. Looking back, it seemed then that so little had happened, but after that day, everything changed; for all of them. What could bring down the walls of Eighteen's mind? Robbie finally thought he knew. _You broke down walls by shaking what was inside._

"Can you fake not flying straight?" Silence. Moments passed without a response, and Robbie was tempted to smile. But the smile faded as he realized that he wasn't breaking down walls; he was adding mortar to the bricks. The silence stretched longer as he realized the android wasn't going to continue the conversation. And then the connection was made. Breaking down one door might just…The door exploded into the room in a hail of splinters.

Robbie expected screaming, a cry of surprise, an angry blonde femme-fatale stalking forward to tear his heart out through his spleen…anything but the cold silence that practically blew through the open doorway like mountain winds. This was not what he expected; the battles behind him might not be harder than the struggle about to take place in the room ahead.

….

If there's one thing that the last four years have taught me, it's that determination is everything in life. In the spirit of this revelation, I bring you Chapter 16. Due to going to grad school and trying to start my career as a Technical Writer, fiction writing (and reading for that matter) had fallen by the wayside. As of the last month, however, I officially have a job as a technical writer/trainer for a major railway manufacturer. It's the job of a lifetime, but it also leaves me free time for other things. LIKE WRITING. Here's hoping that this will be the change I've been waiting for these last several years.

Now for Shout-Outs!

Thomas Drovin: You remain my biggest fan, and hopefully you're reading this now. One thing you will learn about me is that I NEVER give up, even if it takes five years to get back. And I'll have to have a look at your fanfic, if you ever got around to it!

LordFrieza: God hasn't been so sweet lately, but that chapter was a long awaited update, as I hope this one will be as well. Hope you enjoy.

Hopeful Wings: *maniacal laugh* And Frankenstein is now back on the table with Chapter 16. You are right though, Hotmail is garbage. Thanks, MicroSuck.

Riley the Demon: Thank you Riley! Quality is what I aim for. Maybe not quantity and punctuality, but definitely quality.

Jago Li Son Shiranui: Thanks for your patience. Although the problem was never urge to write, but time! That has definitely changed with my new job; even though it's full-time salary, with the possibility for some long hours, I'm going to have a much more stable life. It's the end of a long journey for me, and I intend to make the most of it. Here's to more chapters in the 2013, and the conclusion of this story.


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